iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

University of Cambridge Museums @camunivmuseums.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

We're thrilled to share that our team member Marie Kennedy has been shortlisted for the Radical Changemaker Award at the @museumsassociation.org Museums Change Lives Awards 2026! 🏆 The award recognises the contribution of an individual who is making a difference to the lives of their audiences.

131

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Museum Closure 📢 The Sedgwick Museum will close to visitors at 12:30pm Wednesday 8th July, due to the high temperature inside the Museum. We will also be closed to visitors on the following dates: Thursday 9th July Friday 10th July Saturday 11th July We will re-open at 10am on Monday 13th July.

041

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

This is a plaster replica of a Deinotherium giganteum skull found in Germany in 1835. 🐘 An extinct relative of modern elephants, Deinotherium lived between 20 and 2 million years ago. Its downwards curving tusks connected to its lower jaw are definitely bizarre when compared to living elephants.

A replica of a Deinotherium giganteum skull, a large extinct species of elephant with downward curving tusks, on open display in the Museum gallery. An information board about the skull is mounted to the right of the skull and the wooden Museum cabinets can be seen in the background of the image.

120

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Have you ever seen a fish with armour? 🤺 Pterichthyodes was one of many armoured fish that lived 385 million years ago during the Devonian Period. The armoured plates, which covered the head and front section of the fish, are beautifully preserved in this fossil found in Scotland. #FossilFriday

Fossilised armoured fish sat inside a case with a purple background. The fossil is grey and clearly shows the pattern of its armoured plates, the rock matrix is a sandy brown. A label on the fossil reads: Genus: Pterichthys, Species: Cornulis Aq., Rock: Old Red Sandstone, Locality: Scotland, H4613

03615

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Making Deep Time Visible in Stone and Space great blog by Stefanie Jovanovic-Kruspel @nhmwien.bsky.social on how architects of C19th natural history museums worked with geologists to express deep time thro their buildings, incl @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social valuepast.hypotheses.org/6678

A carved stone mammoth on the side of a building

A lizard-like dinosaur carved in wood on the edge of a library shelf

1176

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

Richard Fallon @richardfallon.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

One of the most sporting localities for a fossil that I've encountered in the @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social: an ammonite, Procerites, found in the Zigzag Zone during 'excavations for hockey pitch' at Kingswood School, Bath, in 1949. I guess it does look a bit like a broken hockey puck.

094

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

#OnThisDay in 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest. This specimen was collected by Hillary as he and Norgay made their descent from the summit.

A small piece of rock held up by a member of the Museum team in the Museum gallery. The rock is grey, about the size of a pound coin and has sharp edges.

0111

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Do you want to see our impression of a dragonfly? #FossilFriday

A beautifully preserved dragonfly fossil from the Solnhofen Limestone.

171

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

Museum Closure 📣 The Sedgwick Museum will be closed to visitors on the following dates: * Friday 15th May * Friday 22nd May * Tuesday 26th May * Friday 29th May This is due to Unite industrial action taking place across the University of Cambridge.

042

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Notice anything strange? 🦛 You may have spotted a difference in the size of its hip bones. This is because the Barrington Hippo is a composite skeleton. One hip bone is from a female individual and the other comes from a male! The larger hip bone is from a female. #FossilFriday #BarringtonHippo

An image of the Barrington Hippo skeleton from behind showing off the discrepancy in hip size. The left hip is much larger than the right.

0111

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

The first #FossilFriday of 2026 is this beautifully preserved horseshoe crab. This horseshoe crab is from the Limulus genus and was found in Solnhofen, a site known for its exceptional preservation of fossils. #FossilFriday #HorsehoeCrab #Palaeontology #SedgwickMuseum #Solnhofen

A staff member holding the horseshoe crab specimen. Behind it the cabinet containing the other Solnhofen specimens can be seen. The crab itself is the size of a palm and it’s main body is a characteristic horseshoe shape with a long tail.

A close up of the horseshoe crab showing in more detail the exceptional preservation of the specimen. It looks like a perfect impression of the animal.

0152

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

Richard Fallon @richardfallon.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

The thermostat's reading Pleistocene at the @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social.

Snowy cave bear sculptures on the outer staircase to the Sedgwick Museum.

0292

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

Richard Fallon @richardfallon.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Heading to @nhmlibraryarchives.bsky.social today on the trail of this woman: Gertrude Elles, graptolite palaeontologist extraordinare. Left: the young Victorian hammer-wielder, from a photo in the @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social. Right: her sagely postwar portrait at Newnham College, Cambridge.

0358

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

Behind the Scenes at the Sedgwick Museum. 🦖 We explored our Collections Team’s favourite specimens, the archive and the evolution of scientific ideas with @richardfallon.bsky.social. We heard from @jackdashby.bsky.social about his new book on Natural History Museums. Thank you for coming!

Jack Ashby, a man wearing a green jumper, standing in front of a Giant Deer.

Richard Fallon, wearing a Sedgwick Museum t-Shirt, standing with a diplodocus model speaking to visitors.

A collections team staff member wearing a Sedgwick Museum t-shirt pointing to an Ichthyosaur snout. They are speaking to visitors.

The Sedgwick Museum Archivist standing at their stall talking to 2 visitors. The stall has archive facsimiles on it.

0123

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

Richard Fallon @richardfallon.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

A beautiful microscope in the @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social collections connected — although we're not yet sure in what manner — with Gertrude Elles.

0141

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Sedgwick Museum Lates: Behind the Scenes uncovered Free, 18+ evening event. Thursday 20th November, 6-9pm Delve into our work behind the scenes. Featuring @jackdashby.bsky.social ‘in conversation’ as we discuss his book ‘Nature’s Memory, Behind The Scenes at the World’s Natural History Museums’.

A drawer of rocks. There are rocks of many colours from grey to orange to red to purple. They are arranged in a gradient.

A drawer of shells. Most are spiral shells of a white colour sitting against the blue colour of the bottom of the drawer.

062

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

Jack Ashby @jackdashby.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

CALLING ALL #CAMBRIDGE MUSEUM & NATURAL HISTORY NERDS! This Thursday, the fabulous @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social opens late for "Behind the Scenes Uncovered" - alongside a bunch of cool activities, I'll be doing an "in-conversation" about my book #NaturesMemory. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sedgwick-m...

eventbrite.co.uk

Sedgwick Museum Lates: Behind the Scenes Uncovered

Explore the Museum in an atmospheric evening setting, as we share our work and collections behind the scenes.

03516

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

Dodo and Dinosaur @dododinosauruk.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

A look back at our Gravel Hunters workshops @dinoconuk.bsky.social this year. We’re so proud to have redesigned this fascinating learning resource created by @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social. The resource pack is free to download from the Sedgwick Museum’s website🦑🪸

041

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

Richard Fallon @richardfallon.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Walking down the Madingley Road today I'll be sure to look out for ichthyosaurs. In the @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social, of course.

Close-up of an ichthyosaur jaw, Myopterygius campylodon (Carter). Location: Madingley Road, Cambridge.

1459

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Interested in developing your career in archives management? Keen to contribute to delivering a high quality service to archive users, and a great communicator? This role could be for you. Further information: www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/archive...

A picture of two Sedgwick Museum staff members looking at a book from the Archive. Across the picture are the words ‘We’re hiring’.

A page of text that reads:
Archive Assistant
Interested in developing your career in archives management?
This new role provides an exciting opportunity to work alongside the Museum Archivist, and contribute to the development and promotion of the Museum's archive as an international focus for collections research.
Hours: Full time, Fixed term (4 years)
Salary: £27,319-£31,236
Closing date: 12th October 2025

157

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

Richard Fallon @richardfallon.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

A Planorbis discus from the Bembridge Limestone of the Isle of Wight, presented to the @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social by none other than Lord Tennyson. There rolls the deep where grew the tree!

0266

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

Tom Sharpe @tomsharperocks.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

23 September 1835: Mary Anning writes to Cambridge geologist Adam Sedgwick in Dent, Yorkshire, anxious to hear that the £50 ichthyosaur she sent him earlier in the month, ℅ the Geological Society, met with his approval. It clearly did and it is still in the collections @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social

Portrait of Mary Anning wearing a green cloak and a straw bonnet tied with a red ribbon.

Portrait of a youngish Adam Sedgwick in a dark jacket and academic gown.

Extract of a letter from Mary Anning to Adam Sedgwick: [I] 'trust you will be gratified with the Ichthyosaurus when you see it - I directed it to Professor Sedgwick Geological Society Somerset House'.

The ichthyosaur skeleton referred to in Mary Anning's letter, purchased by Adam Sedgwick and presented by him to the Cambridge University geological collection. Its head with its long, pointed jaws to the right and tail to the left and well-preserved body and paddles. The mount has a painted label 'ICHTHYOSAURUS Communis Lias. Lyme Regis. Presented by Profr. SEDGWICK.'

0224

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

Today’s #MineralMonday is Biotite. Biotite is a silicate mineral which is usually found in igneous or metamorphic rocks and commonly black or dark green in colour. It is a mica mineral which gives it the characteristic property of fracturing into fine, flexible sheets. #Biotite #SedgwickMuseum

An igneous rock with a large biotite crystal held in the hand of a Sedgwick Museum staff member. The crystal is so large, it is all you can see from this angle. It is green-back in colour but appears black in the image. Its sheet- like texture can be seen on its surface.

The same rock held at an angle that allows you to see other crystals in it. The other crystals are pink and white I colour. Another angle shows the sheet like texture of biotite from the side. The thin sheet layers can be seen clearly.

051

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

University of Cambridge Museums @camunivmuseums.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

What will you discover this #SummerAtTheMuseums? ☀️🔎🔭🎨💎🦖 Check out our full summer events calendar online from today! Browse all events and book your place: museums.cam.ac.uk/theme/summer

An illustration with text in the centre reading Summer at the Museums, What will you discover this summer? Surrounded by museum drawings, including a sun, crayons, butterfly, magnifying glass, telescope and dinosaur.

0102

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

This majestic fossil shell is a #StaffFavourite. 🌊🐚 Commonly known as a scallop, this shell belongs to the Pectinidae family. This fossil is approximately 3 million years old but Pecten maximus can still be found along the English coast today. #Pectinidae #Bivalve #SedgwickMuseum

Pecten maximum held up outside the Museum with the building in the background. The fossil shell is the width of two of the staff member’s hands holding it up. It is an orangy-red colour. There are beautiful ridges in the shell.

A closer look at the fossil shell. A few marks can be seen on the shell which look like they were barnacles.

0132

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

University of Cambridge Museums @camunivmuseums.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Sign up for family fun this #SummerAtTheMuseums! 💌 ☀️ 🗓️ Enjoy a great value day out with your family at local museums this summer. Join us to spark your imagination, explore big topics and enjoy time together. Sign up to hear when the full events calendar launches: bit.ly/SummerAtTheMuseums

023

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

We had a wonderful time celebrating Pride Month on Wednesday with everyone who attended our late opening, ‘Rock Up and Chill'. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🦖 Thank you to everyone who attended the event and contributed to our collaborative artwork. #PrideMonth #RockUpAndChill #QueerHistory #SedgwickMuseum #EarthSciences

A window on which is our collaborative artwork. There are black letters stating ‘Everybody’s Welcome’ around them are a collage of coloured acetate paper. Some is different colours others have rocks under a microscope printed on them.

Visitors sitting and making their contribution to the collaborative artwork. There is microscopes through which you can look at minerals under a microscope. These were used as inspiration for the art.

040

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

How old are the oldest known fossils? This fossil is called a stromatolite which are the most ancient known fossils dating back approximately 3.5 billion years. Stromatolites were among the earliest lifeforms on our planet. #Stromatolites #SedgwickMuseum #EarthSciences #EarthHistory

A cut and polished stromatolite fossil held up in front of the Museum building.

A close up of the stromatolite fossil showing the layers and domes formed within. The layers are no more than a mm thick.

051

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

Do you know how many species of trilobites have roamed the Earth? 🌍 Over their 250 million-year existence, there were over 20,000 different species! During their long history, they diversified into many species with different sizes, habitats, and anatomy. #TrilobiteTuesday #SedgwickMusem

282

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

“Minerals are from the Earth and the Earth belongs to everyone. So everyone should be welcome in society.” – Y10 work experience student, 2022

Two pairs of hands holding a variety of minerals which are different colours. On the left, 5 minerals which are blue, pink and white are held in the same configuration as the transgender flag. On the right, 4 minerals which are yellow, white, purple and black are held in the same configuration as the non-binary flag. Underneath the hands is green foliage acting as a backdrop.

281

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 01/05/2025

This toothy grin could once have been found in parts of England 35 million years ago. 🐊 This fascinating fossil is an extinct relative of the alligator and is thought to have enjoyed a similar diet of fish, mammals and birds. Its generic name is Diplocynodon. #SedgwickMuseum #EarthSciences

A photograph of a skull belonging to an alligatoroid with the generic name of Dyplocynodon. The skull is sitting in a museum cabinet with other specimens on the shelf just below.

The Diplocynodon skull photographed at a closer angle to see the teeth in more detail. Other specimens in the cabinet can be seen in the background.

062

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

Did you know bivalve fossils can provide information about past environments? 🌊 Michael and Julia, from the University of Cologne, have been studying fossil bivalves in our collection to understand if bivalve morphology is linked to the environmental conditions in which they lived. #FossilFriday

A photograph taken in the Collections Research Centre in our Second Palaeontology Store. In the foreground is a drawer containing bivalves from the Jurassic. Behind the drawer is Julia photographing bivalves with Michael sitting just behind her. Cabinets full of drawers can be seen around them.

A close up of the drawer that Julia and Michael were working on when the photograph was taken. Each specimen is sitting in a small cardboard tray with a label in. The fossils are all creamy-white in colour.

094

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Did you know this fossil is commonly referred to as a ‘Devil’s toenail’? Gryphaea got the name ‘Devil’s toenail’ from British folklore. They were associated with the Devil due to their characteristic large, thick, curved shells that resemble toenails. #MolluscMonday #SedgwickMuseum #EarthSciences

A Gryphaea fossil held by a Sedgwick Museum staff member. The fossil is positioned standing up so we can see the two valves showing the characteristic curved thick walls.

A Gryphaea fossil held by a Sedgwick Museum staff member. The fossil is positioned side on so we can see the curve of the shell which is very reminiscent of a toenail.

030

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

What kind of labour gets recognised, when we think about minerals in museums? Who do we involve in recovering and telling their stories? Helpful prompts from @ellietheelement.bsky.social in @originalgcg.bsky.social EDI symposium this morning, relevant to our thinking @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social

0105

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

These fascinating fossils look like intricate works of art. 🖼️ Even though they have been entombed in stone for over 150 million years, these delicate creatures look as if they are still swaying with the currents of the sea. 🌊 #FossilFriday #Crinoids #SedgwickMuseum #EarthSciences

A close up of a crinoid fossil slab. The slab contains multiple crinoid fossils that look a bit like stone lilies.

A close up of a crinoid fossil slab. The slab contains multiple crinoid fossils that look a bit like stone lilies. This slab is darker in colour than the first one with more crinoids visible.

092

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

Cambridge Earth Sciences @cambridge-earthsci.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

🎉 The latest issue of GeoCam is here! Meet our new Head of Department, uncover fascinating research, hear alumni stories, explore student mapping trips, and enjoy vibrant updates from @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social 📖 Read in full here: www.esc.cam.ac.uk/alumni/alumn...

Front cover of GeoCam 2025 showing a mountainous view with blue sky.

053

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 25/03/2025

Did you know that, under the right conditions, rocks can bend? For today’s #TectonicTuesday, here are some folds in banded amphibolite found in Norway. Studying the geometry of folds can help us understand the deformation history of rocks. #TectonicTuesday #SedgwickMuseum #EarthSciences

$A folded amphibolite being held up in front of a wall of 13 other rocks. The amphibolite is grey with darker grey bands in it. The bands are folded in an undulating way. The rock wall behind is brown in colour and there is an array of rocks displayed. Some are folded and others are fractured.$

0134

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

To mark the 240th Birthday of Adam Sedgwick, the Friends of the Sedgwick Museum attended a celebratory drinks reception followed by their annual dinner. To learn more about becoming a member, head to our website and click ‘Support Us’. #FriendsOfTheMuseum #SedgwickMuseum #AdamSedgwick #Geology

The Friends of the Sedgwick Museum posing for a group photo. There are 24 of them standing underneath Iggy our Iguanodon who has been lit with orange and pink lighting for the occasion.

010

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 03/03/2025

Our collection is regularly used by an array of researchers. 🔬 Here is Kaia, a Masters student at UCL, measuring a fossil coelacanth from the Cretaceous which was found in Maidstone, Kent. Kaia studied a variety of bony fish to inform her research. 🐟 #SedgwickMuseum #CollectionsResearch

Kaia, a visiting researcher, measuring a coelacanth fossil. She is using a digital calliper. There is a camera set up above the fossil to enable Kaia to take photos of the specimen.

A close up of the Coelacanth Kaia is studying. It is sitting on a white background.

020

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Overall, the @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social is working to make being LGBTQ+ mainstream rather than marginal in Earth science 🏳️‍🌈 #LGBTHistoryMonth #LGBTQ+HistoryMonth

041

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Our LGBTQ+ history tours @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social share stores of LGBTQ+ scientists linked to the museum, such as Jon Cutbill and Franz Nopcsa. These stories challenge stereotypes, presnet new role models, build awareness and solidarity, increase the visibility of LGBTQ+ people in geoscience🏳️‍🌈

151

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

Liz Hide @themuseumofliz.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Instead of just focusing in recruitment as a means to address lack of diversity, we need to work hard to change the working culture within geoscience departments. University museums like @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social have an important role to play here. 🏳️‍🌈

151

Reposted by Sedgwick Museum

Sandra Freshney @sedgarchivist.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! ⚗️🔭🧪🔬👩‍🔬#IDWGS #IDWGD2025 #WomeninSTEM #HisSci #HistSTEM #Trailblazers #Trowelblazers #ExploreYourArchive

Some of the early female students at Cambridge University who were studying geology. Pictured from top left - Elizabeth Dale, Gertrude Elles, Louise Hugon, Agnes Robertson, Louisa Jebb, Helen Drew, Ida Slater, Margaret MacPhee, Kathleen Haddon, Phylis Jewson, Alice Dale, and Alice Buxton Taylor.

1121

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

What’s the story behind this fascinating rock? It is laminated layers of shales and jaspers found in North West Queensland, Australia, formed 500 million years ago. These colourful layers do not align because they have been faulted (fractured and displaced). #TectonicTuesday #Faulting #Geology

A museum staff member holding the rock up in front of a wall of 13 other rocks. The specific specimen is a deep/purple colour with fine layers of red/orange colour too. The layers are displaced.

A close up of the rock where you can see the layers in more detail. They are extremely fine , hence the term 'laminated' is used.

0152

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

What do you picture when you think about archives? 📚 Many people envisage archives as forgotten piles of paper and books covered in cobwebs. With these pictures of the Sedgwick Museum Archive, managed by Sandra Freshney, we hope to dispel these myths! #DustBusters #ThrowbackThursday #Archives

080

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

Ever wondered what happens to rocks under pressure? 🪨 Deformation is the change rocks undergo when force (known as stress) is applied to them. Factors like the rate of stress, temperature, and pressure influence the type of deformation that occurs. #TectonicTuesday #RockDeformation #Geology

$A wall of thirteen rocks showing various different types of deformation. You can see folding, bending and fracturing.$

091

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Do you know what mineral made this megalodon tooth so big and strong? It is called Apatite. As well as strengthening our bones and teeth, apatite is a key mineral in the fossilisation process. The apatite coating can be seen on the tooth with a section in the centre stripped away. #MineralMonday

092

Sedgwick Museum @sedgwickmuseum.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

How can you move a mountain? 🗻 The Sedgwick Museum is in the final stages of relocating our collection to the Collections Research Centre. Approximately 150 tonnes of rock have been sent to their new home. It's like moving a mountain, one piece at a time. #MoveAMountainMonday #CollectionsMove

081