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Talks for Schools
Unless stated otherwise the target audience for all talks is A2 and AS level science students and the length is approximately 50 minutes.
For those talks that require a data projector, if necessary we can bring our own laptop and data projector.
To book talks please contact the member of staff directly.
When volcanoes explode: what Mount St Helens taught us
Dr Mike Branney
Equipment required: Colour slide projector
In Gengis Khan's Footsteps: The geology of Mongolia
Dr Dickson Cunningham
In this presentation I will discuss the geology, geography and unique culture of one of the least explored regions of central Asia.
Equipment required: Powerpoint and data projector
Mountain Building Processes
Dr Dickson Cunningham
This lecture will provide a review of the world';s major mountain belts, their origin, development and architecture.
Equipment required: Powerpoint and data projector
What Drives the Plates? (Mechanism of plate motions)
Dr Ian Hill
You've heard of plate tectonics, but why does it happen? This lecture will explore the various theories that explain our dynamic Earth.
Equipment required: PowerPoint and data projector
"Geofizz" - what else after Time-Team?
Dr Ian Hill
Geophysics is not just used for finding old Roman walls - find out what real geophysicists do in fields with their instruments...
Equipment required: PowerPoint and data projector
Minerals and Oil - are we running out?
Mr Kip Jeffrey
Equipment required: PowerPoint and data projector
What is Geoscience? & How many ways can the Earth kill you?
Dr Gawen Jenkin
The first part of the talk is a general introduction to the Geosciences, exploring the breadth and excitement of this subject and a brief introduction to what Leicester offers students on our courses. The second part is an interactive discussion on geological hazards from tsunami to heavy metal poisoning.
Length approximately 50 minutes, but the second section can be done in a separate longer session with a break in between giving 40 + 30 minutes in all, including some time for a question and answer session on geoscience courses at Leicester.
This talk is especially suitable for year 12 and 13 students who may be contemplating a Geoscience degree at University, but may also be suitable for high-achieving year 10 or 11 students with a strong interest in science.
Equipment required: PowerPoint and data projector
How to build an ore deposit
Dr Gawen Jenkin
Metals are vital to our modern society. This talk examines the processes that form economic concentrations of metals. There is time in this session to examine some samples of mineralised rock from ore deposits around the world.
Equipment required: PowerPoint and data projector
The Guinness Book of Mineral Deposits
Dr Gawen Jenkin
The human race must sustainably exploit Earth's natural resources to survive. This talk aims to describe some of the biggest and most valuable mineral deposits in the world and how they are formed, including porphyry copper deposits and diamonds. Some hand specimens of mineralised rock can be brought along for examination - but unfortunately no diamonds...!
Equipment required: PowerPoint and data projector
Earthquakes
Professor Mike Lovell
This presentation will examine the science of earthquakes, what causes them and why they only occur in certain areas. The societal consequences of these potentially lethal geological phenomenon will be explored with a special emphasis on earthquake prediction and damage limitation.
Equipment required: PowerPoint and data projector
From sandcastles to snowballs: exploring the physics of rocks
Professor Mike Lovell
Physics is a powerful tool with which to investigate the structure of the Earth beneath our feet. This presentation will use the physics of sandcastles and snowballs to demonstrate the principles behind its use in unravelling the Earth's hidden structure.
Equipment required: PowerPoint and data projector
The Great Dying: The End-Permian Mass Extinction and its links to the Siberian Traps
Professor Andy Saunders
Whilst many geoscientists now agree that the K/T boundary mass extinction was the result of a meteorite impact, the cause of the more extensive Permo-Trias extinction is still controversial - Andy Saunders examines the evidence.
Equipment required: PowerPoint and data projector
The Micro-fossil World
This lecture will explore the types and uses of tiny fossils, on average a millimetre in size. Not only are they spectacular lifeforms, they also provide earth scientists with crucial information about the age of rocks and palaeoenvironmental conditions.
Equipment required: PowerPoint and data projector
Exceptionally preserved fossils: windows on the evolution of life
Professor David Siveter
Palaeontologists study the evolution and biology of life using the fossil record. This record is biased, with the hard parts of animals, such as bones and teeth, forming the major part. Fortunately, there exist fossil deposits where the soft parts of animals are preserved, such as eyes and muscles. These deposits yield some of the world';s most spectacular and informative fossils. This presentation will examine some of these deposits in detail.
Equipment required: PowerPoint and data projector
Future climates: clues from the geological past
Dr Mark Williams
This talk focuses on the record of climate change in the recent geological past and the implications of current climate change in that context.
Equipment required: PowerPoint and data projector
Fossils and fossilization
Dr Jan Zalasiewicz
This talk will begin by introducing fossils and their many uses. It will then
examine the various ways in which ancient life has been preserved so that we can recreate past worlds.
Equipment required: Overhead projector and slide projector
Prehistoric Weather
Dr Jan Zalasiewicz
Was it sunny in the Jurassic? Or chilly in the Carboniferous? The rocks hold many clues to past weather systems and help us to predict future climate.
Equipment required Overhead projector and slide projector
Geological Catastrophes
Dr Jan ZalasiewiczRock strata preserve evidence of a range of catastrophes from small and local to global. This talk depicts the evidence and shows how the course of life on Earth has been affected by geological catastrophes.
Equipment required: Overhead projector and slide projector
