Come along to join the UNE Geoscience & Zoology Societies on the 16th April for pizza, movie, and spotlighting! Meet us at the Natural History Museum at 5:30pm for pizza and a screening of 'Night at the Museum', followed by spotlighting from 8pm at Dumaresq Dam. We will be carpooling out to the dam, so don't worry if you don't have your own transport! If you have your own headtorch, please bring it along! We will be supplying headtorches, but there is only a limited number of these! Please dress warmly with appropriate clothes and wear good, comfy shoes. Some fauna we may get to see include: Possums Kangaroos Gliders Echidnas Variety of birds Microbats Native Frogs Variety of lizards and herps Variety of inverts Make sure you RSVP by 7pm, on Wednesday 15th April (the day before the event) to secure your spot! If you have dietary requirements, please let us know in your RSVP. Head here to register!

The UNE Gaming Society and Geoscience Society have teamed up to bring you a Games Night to help with a brain break during intensives! Come along to The Bistro from 6pm to enjoy some board games, video games, or even VR! A great way to relax and socialise at an otherwise very intensive time. We will even provide the food! The bar will also be open to provide a selection of non-alcholic drinks including mocktails for you to enjoy. Not on campus for intensives, but still want to join in? This event will also be online on the rooftop in Gathertown! Please note as this is a catered event, a valid ticket will need to be shown to redeem your meal. Book your free ticket now!  

If you have woken to the sound of birds singing early in the morning, you have experienced a phenomenon known as the ‘dawn chorus’. But why do birds do this and when did it originate? I conducted a literature review to try and find a likely origin of the behaviour by looking at research defining the dawn chorus, the prevalence among extant bird lineages, and the anatomically relevant syrinx along with its evolution. Did birds start singing at dawn more recently, or did non-avian dinosaurs also call in the early mornings of the Mesozoic? Join Marama in the Museum's seminar room on campus, or online in Gathertown, to hear about this amazing project.

This is a Bonus Seminar aimed for our first year students beginning their Geoscience journey at UNE! Rory MacKett completed his Bachelor of Geoscience at UNE, and is now near completion of his Honours degree. Join him in the Geology lab for "An informal talk regarding my experiences studying geoscience at UNE and working as a early career geologist. Things I've learnt and things I wish I knew along the way." Friday, 13th March, at the end of the lab session, ~12:30pm. In person, or online in Gathertown!

The Minerama Fossicking, Gem & Jewellery Show is held every year at Glen Innes Showgrounds. This year, we are providing an opportunity for you to attend! UNEGS have organised a mini-bus to drive a bunch of you up there for the day on Saturday 7th March. We will be leaving from the Geoscience carpark (next to the Natural Resources Building) at 8:45am, and returning at approximately 2-5pm (depending on how long people want to stay). This is a free event but places are limited so be sure to register today!

Come and explore the New England region to marvel at the geology and try your luck with a bit of prospecting! Torrington is known for it's beryl, fluorite, aquamarine, emerald, bismuth, topaz and more! If you are an aspiring geology student, or you just love gemstones, get involved with UNEGS (University of New England Geosciences Club)! The bus will be leaving the Geoscience carpark at 8:15am, and will return by 5:00pm. Lunch is provided, but you will need to bring your own snacks and water. Enclosed shoes are a must, as well as appropriate outdoor clothing (think long pants, long sleeves, hat, sunnies). Please bring sunscreen and any toiletries - there will be limited opportunites out in the field, bring what you must. If you have your own panning equipment please bring it along with you. Spaces are limited so book your FREE ticket today!  

Join us to hear all about Matt's adventures on the GSA field trip - Geology of the Hunter Valley Weekend: the Permian from whoa to woe! Matt, along with two other UNE students were sponsored by the UNE Geoscience Society to attend this amazing experience, thanks to funding received from the Australian Coal Preparation Society (ACPS). This event will be held in person in the seminar room at the Natural History Museum, and online in Gathertown. You must have a UNE email to sign in. If you need a guest pass, please let us know when you register. 

Join us for talks from two of our HDR students who are headed to CAVEPS in November. The Conference of Australasian Vertebrate Evolution, Palaeontology and Systematics is held every two years and an opportunity for vertebrate palaeontologists to share their research. Zak Hayman & Luke Royce-Haig from Dinolab in the Palaeoscience Research Centre would like to share with our UNE students a sneak preview of what they are taking to CAVEPS. In person in the Museum seminar room, or online in Gathertown. Be sure to request a guest pass when registering if you do not have a UNE email address!   Zak Hayman: The diversity of archaeolamnid sharks in the Late Cretaceous Lamniform sharks represent one of the nine modern orders of sharks, with 15 living species. In the Late Cretaceous however, lamniforms were the predominant group of sharks that swam alongside an array of marine reptiles, with dozens of fossil species known globally. Despite this, much of their Cretaceous diversity remains obscured due to superficial similarities in tooth shapes shared by many species. The Archaeolamnidae is one such lamniform group suffering this conundrum, with teeth referrable to the titular species Archaeolamna kopingensis spanning a range of nearly 30 million years. Let’s see how well this holds up under some qualitative and quantitative scrutiny…      Luke Royce-Haig: An analysis of the function of epidermal papillae in sauropod skin Sauropod dinosaurs represent the largest known terrestrial animals in the history of life on earth, with large taxa potentially exceeding 50 tons in mass. As a result, the implications of this extreme gigantism have become a dominant theme in the scholarship surrounding these animals. One of the key challenges faced by large-bodied animals is thermoregulation. Due to high thermal inertia, large animals have issues dissipating heat effectively. Due to their often immense sizes, it is likely sauropods would have been particularly vulnerable to this issue. While numerous thermoregulatory adapations have already been proposed, sauropod skin has received little prior academic attention. Sauropod integument is notable for the presence of epidermal papillae (small, dome-like structures) across the surface of the scales. It is hypothesized that these papillae may have aided thermoregulation by increasing the surface area of the animal.

🎉Fossil Picking Party!🎉 Free Pizza • Fossils • Sweet Snacks We're down to our final batch of residues for this year—so let's celebrate with food and fossils! It's also Fiona's last day before she leaves us to explore more of the east coast then back to Germany! When: 17 October 2025 (Friday) 📍 Where: HDR Student Room 🍕 Lunch (Free!): 12:00–13:00 🔬 Picking Time: 13:00–16:30   Never picked before? No problem! We'll set you up with microscopes, gear, and plenty of shelly samples. Snacks, sugar, and science—what more could you want?  

Dinosaurs are cool, no one can debate that...but what about the animals that came before them? Blake's Masters project is to re-examine and perhaps redescribe an Early Triassic temnospondyl from Western Australia through high resolution photographs and synchrotron scans. Let us deep dive into the world of ancient amphibians... join team temnospondyl with Blake! In person in the seminar room at the museum, or online in Gathertown!  

Celebrate the end of the trimester with a Trivia Night! A joint event with GSA held completely online in Gathertown. Get Ready for Trivia!   Celebrate the end of the trimester with a fun, free, and completely online Trivia Night. Gather your friends for a chance to win table prizes—so everyone on the winning team gets a prize, like a special notebook. When: Saturday, October 11th, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM AEST Where: https://app.gather.town/app/akWeuVb6M5IIX29B/UNElife.   The Pet Rock Competition   Looking for a chance to win an individual prize and get a head start on the fun? Get creative and join our online Pet Rock Competition! This is your opportunity to bring a rock to life and show off your personality.   How to Enter   Create Your Pet Rock: Find a cool rock and give it a personality! Decorate it with paint, googly eyes, yarn, or anything else you can imagine. Give It a Name and a Bio: What's your pet rock's name? What are its hobbies, dreams, and favorite foods? Write a fun, creative bio to describe its unique character. Submit Your Entry: You must submit your pet rock creation by October 6th. Submit your pet rock via our Facebook or Instagram page, or email it to unegs@myune.edu.au Attend the Main Event: A shortlist of the best pet rocks will be created, and we'll announce the winners at the Trivia Night on October 11th after a live poll vote. It's a great chance to hang out with friends and enjoy a night of rock-solid fun.   How to Join the Event The entire night, including the trivia and the final pet rock showcase, will be held online in our Gather.town meeting space. You can join the event on Saturday, October 11th, from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM AEST by grabbing a free ticket today!   About Our Hosts, The Geological Society of Australia   🪨 💎 ⛏️ ⚒️ 🗿 🌋 ☄️ 🪙 🧪 ⚛️ 🌍 🗺️ ⛰️ 🏞️ 🌊 💧 🔥 ✨ The GSA is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting, advancing, and supporting Earth sciences in Australia. They represent all Earth science disciplines, including geologists, geophysicists, geochemists, and more. You can learn more about their work on the official GSA website: www.gsa.org.au Interested in joining the community? Become a member and get access to exclusive benefits, publications, and events: Join the GSA

Join Helen to hear about her palaeo adventures with some of the UNE HDR crew to the Eromanga Basin for her Honours project. Get an insight into what can be possible when you delve into higher degrees. In person in EM2, or online in Gathertown!