University of Reading Funds Pop-Up Geology Events

A series of ‘pop-up geology museum’ events hosted by the University of Reading gave people the opportunity to learn more about the minerals that are vital to modern life.

Led by Dr Hazel McGoff from the Department of Geography and Environmental Science, the events were hosted earlier this year and were enabled by money given as part of the University’s Community Engagement Fund initiative.

These events, which included a stand at the University’s Community Festival event in May and two separate events held in the Department building in June, displayed many examples of different critical mineral specimens and gave visitors of all ages the unusual experience of being able to handle these items.

Information posters, some mini challenges and the chance to chat with staff in the Department gave people the opportunity to learn more about each of the minerals and how they are used in modern, everyday life. All events proved popular and visitors included members of the Reading Geological Society, local residents and families, and staff from across the University.

Examples of some of the minerals on display included: tungsten, tin and lithium minerals from Cornwall, platinum group metals from Bushveld, South Africa and Rare Earth Elements from Australia.

Dr Hazel McGoff said: “Modern life is literally built on the minerals we can obtain from the Earth and use as components in things such as mobile phones and tablets, wind turbines, solar panels, cars and medical equipment.

“These events allowed us to showcase some of the University’s extensive geology collections that are not normally on display. They also allowed us to illustrate how these ‘critical minerals’ are vital to sustain our current lifestyles, and how some of these will become more important as we transition to a low carbon economy.

“It was fantastic to see people of all ages enjoying these specimens and engaging with where they come from and how they are used today. We’ve also been in communication with some local interest groups, including Reading Geological Society, about how we can work more closely together in future to further educate people on the value of minerals.”