The Lapworth Museum of Geology is
located in the Aston Webb building at the University of Birmingham, where it forms a key part of the
Earth Sciences department. The Lapworth dates back to 1880 and retains the original, Edwardian
display cases, although it has recently won funding from the Lottery Heritage Fund for redevelopment.
The Lapworth Museum is named after Charles Lapworth,
who was a geologist who worked in furthering the understanding of how mountains
are made. He was the first Professor of Geology at Mason College,
which became the University of Birmingham in 1898.
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| Charles Lapworth - Source |
Much of the items on display at the museum are fossils,
including shells, trilobites, crinoids and ammonites. There are samples of the
Solnhofen Limestone as well as mineral samples from the surrounding area, especially the coal
mining history of the Black Country.
Entry to the museum is free and it is fully wheelchair
accessible.
You can read more about the Natural Science collections ofthe West Midlands here.
The Lapworth Museum has a Twitter feed!
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| Trilobite! |
The Lapworth Museum can be found in the Aston Webb building at the University of Birmingham (A Block). The University can be reached by train on the cross-city line; head for University station. If you've never been to campus before, aim for the clock tower - Old Joe is in the courtyard in front of the Aston Webb building (it is the curved redbrick building - also worthy of a blog post due to the detail and sculptures above the main doors!)
The University can also be reached by bus - the 61 and 63 stop on the Bristol Road. The 98 and 99 stop by the Medical School, near the railway station. You can also drive, though parking on campus is limited, especially during term time. There are disabled bays near the museum entrance.
The University website has a collection of maps and PDFs available - see here for more.
