Come along and see the volcano in action at the Family Fun Day on Saturday 12th March.

Undergroundology – a half-term celebration of rocks and volcanoes at the OUMNH.

The rain held off, the sun came out and we had a great afternoon of volcano fun outside Oxford’s Museum of Natural History. Our volunteers were kept busy all afternoon, as hordes of people came to find out what ‘undergroundology‘ was all about.

The model London Volcano – look out for the signs of rumbling as we approach Friday at 6 pm…

Outside, in the shadow of the silent London Volcano, there were multiple activity stations to explore how volcanoes erupt. We had ‘exploding magma chambers’, spraying colourful plastic balls high into the air; and churning gassy liquids, to explore the inner workings of active volcanoes.

Indoors, there was fishing for lava, while wearing the aluminium volcano suit; and a space to think about what it might be like to live near an active volcano. Great fun – and it continues for the next two days!

So what about the undergroundology?

It is a made-up word – but one that was made up nearly 200 years ago, by a famous and eccentric Oxford geologist, William Buckland. In 1820, Buckland was travelling in France, and he wrote in a letter

‘I left Paris, having allowed myself to attend to nothing there but my undergroundology, and dashed directly into Auvergne. At Clermont, I took the tour of the volcanic chain and summit of Puy-de-Dome. It is the finest thing by far in Europe.. with more than fifty craters nearly in a line from north to south, many of which are larger and finer than that of Vesuvius..’

So, there we have it – undergroundology and volcanoes, in 1820!

Do drop by over the next two days to see for yourself what is going on.

Sources: 

Elizabeth Gordon, 1894, ‘The life and correspondence of William Buckland, D.D.,F.R.S., sometime Dean of Westminster, twice president of the Geological Society, and first president of the British Association‘, John Murray, London. [Reference to undergroundology on page 40]

Over the next two weeks, the volcano model will take up residence outside the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. There is a programme of activities for schools from 20 – 22 October; and then three afternoons (1 pm – 4 pm) of family-friendly activities around the volcano on 28, 29 and 30th October. The event will close with an explosive finale at 6 pm on 30th October. If you want to drop by to find out more about volcanoes, and take part in some volcano-related activities, we’d love to see you!

Painting volcanoes at the Green Man Festival. Photo: Danielle McLean

Thanks to NERC – our research funders, and sponsors of this event.

London Volcano arrives at the British Geological Survey open day, June 2015

Look out for London Volcano on the road in the next few days as we mark the 50th anniversary of the Natural Environment Research Council, NERC. Last weekend we were at the BGS Open Days in Keyworth, Nottingham; Hazel Gibson posted a nice vine loop of the smoking volcano in action. Next week (July 8, 11), look out for London Volcano at the Science Up Close open days at the Harwell Campus, near Didcot.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Natural Environment Research Council, which is the main source of research funding for academic scientists in the UK working on problems related to the Earth and Environmental Sciences. To mark this occasion, NERC have provided funding for activities that will take place across the UK to celebrate the ‘summer of science’. As a part of this programme, the London Volcano exhibit will be ‘out and about’. Highlights to come will include the Science Up Close Open Days at Harwell (Oxfordshire, 8-11 July – register here) and a pitch in Einstein’s Garden at the Green Man Festival (20-23 August). We have other activities in the pipeline, so just watch this space!

In a set of three wonderful new films made for the STREVA project, Vincentians talk about the moment in April 1979, when the Soufriere last erupted; about the recovery after the eruptions

and about what it is like living under the volcano, knowing that it might erupt again in the future.

Do you have memories from this, or other eruptions? If so, we’d love to hear from you.

Related post:

Richie Robertson, Director of the Seismic Research Centre, talks about his experiences in 1979.

Volcanoes Top Trumps

We will have news of our plans for future London Volcano events shortly. In the meantime, have you seen the news from Volcanoes Top Trumps? Not only can you now buy the cards online, you can also play a brand new set of Volcanoes Top Trumps games online! It’s free, but you just need to sign up to play.

“When you think of the Caribbean, you just think white sand and blue waters, not volcanoes.” This was the most popular refrain I heard throughout the week at the London Volcano exhibition. And the public was right; most people may not associate volcanoes with the Caribbean.

The Caribbean coastline at Owia, St Vincent. Photo by Jon Stone

As the representative of the UWI Seismic Research Centre at the exhibition, I saw firsthand how well the exhibition helped to bridge that gap- not only by providing basic earth science lessons for children but also by  increasing awareness among the general public. People seemed to have left with a better understanding of the risks associated with living in close proximity to a volcano. Learning has never been more entertaining as fizzy drinks, coloured balls and ducks wonderfully demonstrated the mechanics behind volcanic eruptions for awestruck children and adults. The daily re-creation of the 1902 eruption sparked interest in the region, with many people sharing the pictures, videos and links posted of the exhibition as well as informing family and friends in the UK about the event. The ‘Nature Live’ session generated much excitement among the students of the Langley Park Government School in St. Vincent and they conducted their ‘Alka-Seltzer’ eruption with much success.

The London Volcano in eruption. Photo: Holly Leonard.

Looking back, I realized how much I learnt during this week. I was thrilled to be a part of the exhibition and enjoyed not only the interactions with the school groups and public but with everyone from both Oxford and East Anglia. Thanks to everyone for making my time so enjoyable. The exhibition has given me many ideas which the Education and Outreach section of the Centre hopes to incorporate in the region. We look forward to future collaborations.

Alia Juman with His Excellency Cenio Lewis, High Commissioner for St Vincent and the Grenadines

Links

Interview with Alia Juman at the London Volcano

We estimate that we had a footfall of approximately 2,500 visitors throughout the week. We had visitors from as near as across the road, and as far as France and Texas! We’re so pleased that we, on behalf of the STREVA Project, were able to share knowledge of volcanic risks and hazards with so many, and hope that our visitors are equally as happy with their experience.

Drs. Ricky Heard and Mel Rodgers teach school children about volcano monitoring, using demonstrations with a real seismometer and infrared camera.

Extra special thanks to the school groups who made us part of their Natural History Museum experience:

• Grimsdyke School
• Essendine School
• Bickley Primary School
• Hazelwood School
• St. Martin School (France)
• The Royal Docks Community School
• BWI Primary School
• St. Luke’s Primary School
• Edgware Junior School
• Faircroft School
• South Hampstead Junior School
• Pennoweth School
• East Water School
• Liberty Primary School
• Sandhurst School
• St. Francis Curgan School
• Uplands Primary School

Chiara Petrone of the NHM shows samples of volcanic rocks from the 1902 Soufriere St. Vincent eruption to some very interested school children.

We set off approximately 30 bin bangs and had a grand total of 94 houses built on our volcanic island.

The late event on Wednesday gathered quite a crowd, numbering in the hundreds!

Of the 94 houses built, only 12 were fully destroyed by pyroclastic density currents and/or lahars from the major eruption- well done to so many for making such careful decisions on house-building!

The populated north side of the volcano.

It was interesting for us to see the reasons behind selecting house locations before the volcano erupted. The vast majority of house-builders were aged 5 through 8 and chose their location to be “far enough away” (usually to the south of the volcano) or “by the sea, to escape” (to the north of the volcano).

Some super clever (and often older) groups went further into their reasoning and rationale, stating ideas such as “because the valleys point the other way” or “you can’t see the crater from here.” A handful of times through the week we were lucky enough to engage with very stimulated school children who wanted to deliberate extraordinarily carefully over their decisions, and analyzed absolutely every detail before making a decision.

“Re-greening” of the volcano as it recovers from its eruption in the short and long term.

On Thursday and Friday, after the big eruption, we explored short and long term recovery after natural disasters. We asked visitors to decide where they would locate a “recovery center” in the short term (Thursday) or choose to rebuild farms and plantations in the long term (Friday). The discussions that ensued were no less detailed than those for house-building; frequently, groups needed to circumnavigate the volcano several times before agreeing upon a location.

A few staunch souls voiced their dissent against their groups’ selected location, whether it be for building houses for recovery centers. We thought this was very important because it highlights the fact that living in the reaches of an active volcano is tough! The decisions that must be made are not easy decisions, and frequently there will be disagreements over which course of action is best.

The volcano is packed up into storage at the SureTrans warehouse. It is available for hire, so please contact [email protected] if interested!

Thank you once again to everybody who made our temporary exhibit such a grand success, and we hope to have inspired a few future volcanologists along the way!