Hello, it’s Professor Ichthyosaurus here, your companion and guide to all things BRLSI!
The Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, or BRLSI for short, is a place where Science, Literature and Art come together to help people learn and smile. Grown-ups who love books, science and art can visit to watch lectures, while there are fun activities for children too!
The really exciting part is, BRLSI has an amazing collection of things from around the world, treasures from near and far that have been collected by enthusiasts, and these are shown in their exhibitions. A brand-new exhibition is coming soon – called, Petrification, it opens on 5 April and will include fun children’s activities with the Academy of Imagination!
It’s all about the wonderful world of fossils! Two brand-new BRLSI characters, Tom and Aisha, act as your guides, illuminating you on everything you need to know. If you haven’t met Aisha and Tom yet, visit us in Queen Square and you soon will! They feature in a newly created BRLSI comic, helping us to understand that our knowledge of fossils is constantly growing.
Aisha and Tom are throwing you a challenge this summer to come to Queen Square and discover the next chapter in the story of time for yourself. Umm! Sounds a little bit like Doctor Who!
In an exciting addition to the BRLSI experience, school and community groups can book an exhibition tour, with an optional Mary Anning workshop. Mary Anning, who lived in Dorset, was famous for finding fossils. You might want to let your teacher know.
Fascinating facts and family fun
- Megalosaurus was a fearsome predator that lived in Britain during the Middle Jurassic period. Families visiting the BRLSI can put their hands inside a Megalosaurus footprint.
- You can visit BRLSI to come face to face with life-sized silhouettes of some enormous, fearsome beasts and take home a brass rubbing showing their size compared to yours.
- Spin the wheel – discover which prehistoric animals you might have encountered, then find them in the Petrification exhibition—if you dare!
- Marvel at the cutest club-spined sea urchin, a beautiful tiny lobster, and the delicate details of ancient fern leaves.
- Be amazed by the depths of time as you explore BRLSI’s huge geological timeline.
- Aisha and Tom invite you to take a journey around your local area to see where some of the fossils on display were found. And in addition to all of this, they have some very exciting information about prehistoric plants too!
Whether big or small, be sure to visit BRLSI’s brand-new exhibition, Petrification, and find out which fearsome creatures once roamed the streets of Bath. Just remember—not to fall into Deep Time! For further info, visit www.brlsi.org/about-us/families/
