Annual two-day event is designed to encourage young people to study earth sciences

Lyme Regis Fossil Festival is set to return next weekend (May 5 and 6).

Activities will be taking place on both days from 10am until 5pm.

The annual family event seeks to enthuse young people about science, focussing on earth sciences in particular.

The festival is centred around the old town and sea front, with activities taking place in the Hub, in the Jubilee Pavilion, under the shelters and in the main marquee above the amusement arcade.

The theme this year is Lyme through Time - 200 million years of geological time, 200 years of discovery.

The rocks and fossils around Lyme Regis and Charmouth date back to the start of the Jurassic period and yet people have only spent the last 200 years unravelling the stories that they contain.

As in previous years, the Natural History Museum along with both national and regional science organisations, museums and universities will be displaying their work in the Earth Sciences. There will be plenty of hands-on activities together with great walks and talks.

People can go along and meet scientists from the Natural History Museum, Palaeontological Association, British Antarctic Survey, Natural England, Southampton University, Dorset Geologists, Geological Society, Lyme Regis Museum, Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre, National Trust, Dorset Wildlife Trust, Dinosaur Isle and many more.

Entry to festival venues is free, although the usual entry fee for the museum will apply and there is a small charge for walks and talks. Further details can be found at https://www.fossilfestival.co.uk/