Palaeontology in Popular Culture: Discussion Event & Pop-Up Exhibition

king's college london, 2 September 2019, 18:00-20:15

Description

The lost worlds of deep time provide some of the most high-profile scientific motifs in popular culture. Images derived from palaeontology, like dinosaurs, fossils and prehistoric landscapes, have featured in films, cartoons, artworks, radio, television, literature, toys and public models. Meanwhile, popular culture and the media have also affected the way in which palaeontologists have discussed and presented their findings. But why is this? And how has this relationship affected both popular culture and the science of palaeontology itself?

In this one-evening pop-up exhibition and discussion event, we thought about how palaeontology and popular culture have interacted from the origins of the field to the present. In a set of exhibits, some of the UK’s leading palaeontological artists displayed artwork that engages with the relations between popular culture and science. And in a discussion segment, we will talk about some particularly interesting case-studies, from ammonites and graptolites to bears, fossil whales and dinosaurs.

Featuring exhibits from:

Friends of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, Luis Rey, Jed Taylor, Beth Windle & Mark Witton.

And discussion with:

Mark Carnall, Ellinor Michel, Ilja Nieuwland, Hannah O’Regan, Will Tattersdill and Georgia Witton-Maclean.

Event Images