This year’s Earth Science Week is still more than four months away, but we’re already making plans!

A 9 day long celebration of the geology all around us in the UK and Ireland, Earth Science Week is an opportunity for museums and other outreach organisations to highlight their collections, for geologists to engage with new audiences, and for the public to explore the geology around them. Once again, we’re running alongside Earth Science Week in America, organised by the American Geosciences Institute.

Our theme for 2016, to celebrate the launch of our new careers pages, is ‘Earth Science in Action’ – focusing on the amazing opportunities a career in Earth science brings.

The calendar is already filling up, and we’d love to hear from anyone interested in running an event during the week – all ideas are welcome, from geowalks to talks, handling sessions, school workshops or anything else you have in mind!

We have a number of small grants of up to £150 available for running your events – if you’d like to apply for one, please let us know what you’re planning by Friday 12th August. Visit our website to find out more.

Here’s just a few examples of what took place last year:

Minerals, pigments and William Smith, Sedgwick Museum, Cambridge

Visitors mixed their own paint using mineral pigments, and used it to create their very own geological maps of England and Wales!

‘Meet the Earth Scientist’ at Newcastle University

Students and staff from Newcastle University Geoscience department gave families the chance to get their hands dirty with some hands on Earth science at the Life Centre.

Daily talks and Georambles at the North West Highlands Geopark

The North West Highlands Geopark hosted a series of Earth Science Café events and walks during the week, on the theme of Earth science, archaeology and geo-archaeology.

Pop up exhibition: ‘The age of the British Isles’, University College London

A free exhibition showcasing the ways geologists, geochronologists, palaeontologists and stratigraphers find out when the rocks that make up the British Isles were formed, from 3 billion year old zircons to Archaean gneiss to 10,000 year old Palaeolithic axes in Quaternary sediments.

‘Mud Monsters’ school workshops led by Durham Cathedral

Half day sessions were offered to nursery schools across the region, to introduce young children to the concept of geological science through play with mud – in keeping with the Geological Society’s 2015 Year of Mud!

In all, more than fifty events took place during the week – we hope 2016 will be even bigger!

If you have any questions about taking part, please contact Sarah Day (sarah.day@geolsoc.org.uk), or give us a call (0207 434 9944).