Oxford University Museum of Natural History
@morethanadodo.bsky.social
A stunning Victorian building home to 7 million objects. Free entry, open 10-5 every day.
Museum Researcher @rosspanderson.bsky.social believes that finding rocks made up of antibacterial clay minerals holds the key. These minerals can slow the decay of organic cells long enough for them to survive as fossils.
November 12, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Museum Researcher @rosspanderson.bsky.social believes that finding rocks made up of antibacterial clay minerals holds the key. These minerals can slow the decay of organic cells long enough for them to survive as fossils.
The first complex organisms were microscopic and lacked such hard parts, like shells or skeletons. As a result, their soft and fragile cells rarely fossilised.
November 12, 2025 at 3:37 PM
The first complex organisms were microscopic and lacked such hard parts, like shells or skeletons. As a result, their soft and fragile cells rarely fossilised.
In Summer 2024, a team of palaeontologists and geologists undertook an expedition to the Little Dal Group in the Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada.
Their purpose was to uncover some of the oldest fossil ecosystems that record complex life.
Their purpose was to uncover some of the oldest fossil ecosystems that record complex life.
November 12, 2025 at 3:37 PM
In Summer 2024, a team of palaeontologists and geologists undertook an expedition to the Little Dal Group in the Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada.
Their purpose was to uncover some of the oldest fossil ecosystems that record complex life.
Their purpose was to uncover some of the oldest fossil ecosystems that record complex life.
This is a septarian concretion with calcite filled fractures
November 12, 2025 at 11:10 AM
This is a septarian concretion with calcite filled fractures
If you follow the geologists around while they’re moving specimens, you can ask ‘what’s that?’ about 100 times and find cool rocks like this septarian nodule
November 12, 2025 at 11:04 AM
If you follow the geologists around while they’re moving specimens, you can ask ‘what’s that?’ about 100 times and find cool rocks like this septarian nodule
Nom nom nom
November 6, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Nom nom nom
Each piece of amber will be scanned in full at a resolution fine enough to spot features a few micrometres across (a micrometre is one-thousandth of a millimetre — about one-hundredth the width of a human hair). 20 chosen specimens will then be magnified further still for an even sharper look.
November 6, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Each piece of amber will be scanned in full at a resolution fine enough to spot features a few micrometres across (a micrometre is one-thousandth of a millimetre — about one-hundredth the width of a human hair). 20 chosen specimens will then be magnified further still for an even sharper look.
The most revealing details, like delicate mouthparts, are sealed away under the resin’s glossy surface. Cutting into them would destroy what makes them precious.
Enter the SOLEIL synchrotron.
Enter the SOLEIL synchrotron.
November 6, 2025 at 11:34 AM
The most revealing details, like delicate mouthparts, are sealed away under the resin’s glossy surface. Cutting into them would destroy what makes them precious.
Enter the SOLEIL synchrotron.
Enter the SOLEIL synchrotron.
Imagine a drop of ancient resin. Inside is an insect, trapped for 53 million years, so well preserved it looks like it might twitch back into life. These amber fossils offer us a breath-taking glimpse into long vanished ecosystems.
But there’s a catch
But there’s a catch
November 6, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Imagine a drop of ancient resin. Inside is an insect, trapped for 53 million years, so well preserved it looks like it might twitch back into life. These amber fossils offer us a breath-taking glimpse into long vanished ecosystems.
But there’s a catch
But there’s a catch
Exit, pursued by a bear
November 6, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Exit, pursued by a bear
Ever fancied walking around the Museum at night? We’ll be open late for the @pittriversmuseum.bsky.social Late Night this Friday.
Book your free tickets now
www.prm.ox.ac.uk/event/museum...
Book your free tickets now
www.prm.ox.ac.uk/event/museum...
November 4, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Ever fancied walking around the Museum at night? We’ll be open late for the @pittriversmuseum.bsky.social Late Night this Friday.
Book your free tickets now
www.prm.ox.ac.uk/event/museum...
Book your free tickets now
www.prm.ox.ac.uk/event/museum...
N is for... Nantan meteorite! This meteorite is approximately 4.5 billion years old! It is also one of our touchable specimens here at the Museum. It is thought to have fallen to Earth from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter in 1516, but this fragment was not found until 1958.
October 13, 2025 at 9:00 AM
N is for... Nantan meteorite! This meteorite is approximately 4.5 billion years old! It is also one of our touchable specimens here at the Museum. It is thought to have fallen to Earth from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter in 1516, but this fragment was not found until 1958.
M is for... Museum of Natural History! We were the first purpose-built natural history museums, having opened our doors to our iconic building in 1860. We are now home to over 7 million specimens.
October 10, 2025 at 9:00 AM
M is for... Museum of Natural History! We were the first purpose-built natural history museums, having opened our doors to our iconic building in 1860. We are now home to over 7 million specimens.
L is for... Lithograph! A lithograph is a stone with an image drawn out in a greasy material, and the surrounding stone is etched out to create a water-receptive surface. The ink will only adhere to the drawing, allowing for printing of an image, as shown here in Breaking Ground.
October 9, 2025 at 9:00 AM
L is for... Lithograph! A lithograph is a stone with an image drawn out in a greasy material, and the surrounding stone is etched out to create a water-receptive surface. The ink will only adhere to the drawing, allowing for printing of an image, as shown here in Breaking Ground.
K is for... Koala! One major threat to koalas is actually chlamydia infections, with some populations having up to a 70% infection rate. Luckily a new vaccine has just been approved to prevent further infections. Chlamydia has been responsible for nearly 50% of koala deaths in recent years.
October 8, 2025 at 11:00 AM
K is for... Koala! One major threat to koalas is actually chlamydia infections, with some populations having up to a 70% infection rate. Luckily a new vaccine has just been approved to prevent further infections. Chlamydia has been responsible for nearly 50% of koala deaths in recent years.
J is for… Jade! Oftentimes rocks and minerals used for decorative purposes have a different classification in geology. Jade refers to two different minerals, nephrite, and the more valuable jadeite.
October 7, 2025 at 12:42 PM
J is for… Jade! Oftentimes rocks and minerals used for decorative purposes have a different classification in geology. Jade refers to two different minerals, nephrite, and the more valuable jadeite.
I is for... Ichthyosaur! This extinct marine reptile lived during the Jurassic, and this specimen measures nearly 6 meters long! It was found in Lyme Regis, Dorset and within it's fossilized skeleton you can see ammonite shells.
October 6, 2025 at 9:00 AM
I is for... Ichthyosaur! This extinct marine reptile lived during the Jurassic, and this specimen measures nearly 6 meters long! It was found in Lyme Regis, Dorset and within it's fossilized skeleton you can see ammonite shells.
H is for... Hodgkin! Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin is still the only British woman scientist to have been awarded a Nobel Prize. She won the Nobel in chemistry in 1964 for mapping the structure of vitamin B12. She also mapped the structure of Penicillin and Insulin through X-ray crystallography.
October 3, 2025 at 9:00 AM
H is for... Hodgkin! Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin is still the only British woman scientist to have been awarded a Nobel Prize. She won the Nobel in chemistry in 1964 for mapping the structure of vitamin B12. She also mapped the structure of Penicillin and Insulin through X-ray crystallography.
Today is National Poetry Day and we thought it was a lovely day to acknowledge the poem written by Simon Armitage which was commissioned by the Museum to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the naming of the first dinosaur, Megalosaurus.
October 2, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Today is National Poetry Day and we thought it was a lovely day to acknowledge the poem written by Simon Armitage which was commissioned by the Museum to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the naming of the first dinosaur, Megalosaurus.
G is for... Giant ground sloth! This extinct mammal lived during the Pleistocene in South America. It could weight up to 4,000 kilograms and reach 6 meters in length.
October 2, 2025 at 9:00 AM
G is for... Giant ground sloth! This extinct mammal lived during the Pleistocene in South America. It could weight up to 4,000 kilograms and reach 6 meters in length.
F is for... Flying fish! The flying fish can swim up to 70km per hour and launch itself into the air and glide above the water for more than 350 meters.
October 1, 2025 at 9:00 AM
F is for... Flying fish! The flying fish can swim up to 70km per hour and launch itself into the air and glide above the water for more than 350 meters.
E is for... Elephant bird egg! This is the largest bird egg known to have existed. It is so large that it could hold the contents of up to 7 ostrich eggs. The elephant bird went extinct about 1,000 years ago not long after humans arrived on the island of Madagascar.
September 30, 2025 at 10:10 AM
E is for... Elephant bird egg! This is the largest bird egg known to have existed. It is so large that it could hold the contents of up to 7 ostrich eggs. The elephant bird went extinct about 1,000 years ago not long after humans arrived on the island of Madagascar.
D is for... Dodo!
We hold the only known soft tissue remains of a dodo in our collections, but don't you know? We're much more than a dodo!
We hold the only known soft tissue remains of a dodo in our collections, but don't you know? We're much more than a dodo!
September 29, 2025 at 9:00 AM
D is for... Dodo!
We hold the only known soft tissue remains of a dodo in our collections, but don't you know? We're much more than a dodo!
We hold the only known soft tissue remains of a dodo in our collections, but don't you know? We're much more than a dodo!
C is for... Crocodile!
The Nile crocodile has the strongest bite force of any living animal, up to 5000 pounds per square inch!
The Nile crocodile has the strongest bite force of any living animal, up to 5000 pounds per square inch!
September 26, 2025 at 9:00 AM
C is for... Crocodile!
The Nile crocodile has the strongest bite force of any living animal, up to 5000 pounds per square inch!
The Nile crocodile has the strongest bite force of any living animal, up to 5000 pounds per square inch!
B is for... Blue morpho butterfly!
These butterflies live in the rainforests of South America and can have a wingspan of up to 20cm. If you look closely you can see the outline of the eye spots that are on the other side of their wings.
These butterflies live in the rainforests of South America and can have a wingspan of up to 20cm. If you look closely you can see the outline of the eye spots that are on the other side of their wings.
September 25, 2025 at 9:00 AM
B is for... Blue morpho butterfly!
These butterflies live in the rainforests of South America and can have a wingspan of up to 20cm. If you look closely you can see the outline of the eye spots that are on the other side of their wings.
These butterflies live in the rainforests of South America and can have a wingspan of up to 20cm. If you look closely you can see the outline of the eye spots that are on the other side of their wings.