The Geology Gallery's subject areas include the solar system, geological periods, minerals, fossils & fossilization, and local geology. A time-line, illustrated by fossils from our collection, is used to explain many aspects of evolution.

A variety of interactive features broaden the appeal of this gallery with some items which can be handled, such as the jigsaw map of tectonic plates and some dinosaur hand-puppets. There is also an audio recording of dinosaur noises.

Part of the archive of renowned geologist, Sir Archibald Geikie, is displayed in its own room. He was Director General of the Geographical Survey of the United Kingdom and a renowned authority on igneous, or volcanic, rocks. Sir Archibald, who moved to Haslemere in 1901, was a patient of Museum founder Sir Jonathan Hutchinson. After Hutchinson's death, Sir Archibald set up a board of trustees to run the museum, of which he bacame the first chairman. He died in 1924.

Look out for

• A skeleton of the extinct Moa bird from New Zealand
• A meteorite fragment
• A giant ammonite and a Burgess Shale fossil

Museum Gallery Plans