Learning Resources
These are just some starting points for exploring and learning.
The GA’s ‘Geology from your Sofa’ (GfYS) page lists a wide variety of upcoming talks, podcasts, online courses, virtual field trips and geofun. It is updated monthly, and is always worth checking.
Teach Yourself
The BGS ‘Discovering Geology’ page offers a wealth of material for learners of all ages.
The Scottish Geology Trust’s ‘Geology’ pages concentrate on Scotland’s geological history.
For practical fieldwork skills, explore the links on the GA’s Education page, which aims to support both teachers and students.
A quick online search will reveal a myriad of videos and podcasts by individuals and academic institutions, including animations of plate tectonics history over the past 500 million years, and even projected far into the future!
Specially for young people:
‘Geology Rocks‘ is a collection of podcasts developed by the GSL in collaboration with the FunKids children’s radio service.
‘A Career in Geology‘ was recommended to us by Anna, a young American who discovered it during lockdown. Don’t worry, you don’t have to make it a career! This is a great introduction to rocks, minerals and the rock cycle, and gives links to many more (mainly American) sites.
Trails, maps and guides
The ‘Geotrails and Building Stone Walks‘ page of the GA lists geological trails throughout the UK, many free as pdf downloads, some for a small charge. Also consult Local Group websites for trails in their local areas.
Explore with the BGS interactive map viewer; their paper maps at 1:50,000 scale are available from a number of sources.
The GA has produced detailed visitor guides to a large number of UK regions as well as popular overseas geological destinations.
Joining In
Talks, courses, classes, clubs
The GA and most Local Groups hold talks, field trips and sometimes geoconservation activities. It is usually possible to sample these as a guest.
The GSL also gives monthly public lectures.
Some universities and other educational institutions offer short courses free of charge. A fascinating selection can be found on the GfYS page.
Specially for young people:
The GA’s junior club Rockwatch has a progamme of field trips and museum events, as well as offering geological information, competitions, a magazine, and more.
Longer field trips
The GA normally runs several longer UK and overseas field trips per year, guided by expert geologists.
The Open University Geological Society (OUGS) also offer a wide variety of field trips – membership is not confined to OU students.
Apart from that, most overseas field trips are run by small commercial organisations that specialise in group geological tours. Look online – it’s a great way to visit places you might not otherwise get to.
+ probably plenty more! Suggestions?