On Saturday 28th May Nigel Marven, TV presenter and filmmaker, will be presenting the Environment Trust’s seventh annual lecture event for families.

Right where you are sitting now once roamed great fearsome beasts, flying, swimming and stomping their way all over the planet. In this year’s lecture Nigel Marven, will be revealing marvellous facts about the dinosaurs he met whilst filming the famous TV series Walking With Dinosaurs. And what of the people who first discovered dinosaur fossils, when at that time most people thought the world was a mere 5,800 years old?

Join Nigel, expert palaeontologists and historians to find out what dinosaurs looked like, how they communicated, how they fought, what they hunted - and who hunted them. Everything you always wanted to know about dinosaurs but were too afraid to ask!

SPEAKERS:
Deborah Cadbury, Bestselling author and Emmy award winning TV producer & executive. Deborah is author of The Dinosaur Hunters:  A True Story of Scientific Rivalry and the Discovery of the Prehistoric World (2000). Two hundred years ago the country doctor, Gideon Mantell, was ridiculed when he found giant bones in a Sussex quarry and claimed that an enormous reptile had once roamed the British countryside. In the early 19th century people had no idea that dinosaurs had ever existed. Geology as a subject was not yet recognised; the very idea that bits of earth and rock were a better clue to the past than the bible was deeply shocking. And there was no concept of prehistory. The earth, said respected biblical scholars, was created in 4004 BC.  But Gideon Mantell’s giant bones would spark an extraordinary tale of scientific discovery – one which led to his rival, the brilliant anatomist Richard Owen to give the extinct creatures their name and secure for himself unparalleled international acclaim.

Dr David Hone, Palaeontologist and writer, Queen Mary University of London, will talk about "How we can tell adult dinosaurs from the juvenilles?". Dr Hone's work focuses on the behaviour and ecology of (non-avian) dinosaurs as a whole and especially the carnivorous theropods, and also on the flying pterosaurs. His research is aimed at answering key questions about these animals and in particular what this means for how they lived their lives in terms of their behaviour and ecology. How did they hunt and feed, how might they have communicated, was there social structure within herds, how large did they get and what did this mean for their biology? Dr Hone's first book "The Tyrannosaur Chronicles" will be out this April. Read more at davehone.co.uk

Nigel Marven, TV wildlife filmmaker, author and presenter. "Time Travelling for Prehistoric Park and Sea Monsters". Presenter Nigel Marven will introduce his favourite dinosaurs and prehistoric reptiles. As well telling behind the scenes stories about the making of his shows. Nigel is perhaps best known for his unorthodox, spontaneous, and daring style of presenting wildlife documentaries as well as for including factual knowledge in the proceedings. Wildlife film-making has been Nigel's way of life for more than twenty years. Of particular note, Nigel has hosted special Walking with Dinosaurs episodes Chased by Dinosaurs: The Giant Claw & Land Of Giants, and Sea Monsters. He then moved on to Prehistoric Park on ITV, a fictional series about travelling back in time to rescue examples of extinct creatures such as a Tyrannosaurus, Woolly Mammoth, Arthropleura and others. Nigel is delighted to be stepping in for Sir David Attenborough this year because Sir David had always been a BBC hero of Nigel's.

Budding palaeontologists are very welcome but we suggest that it may not be suitable for under 6s. However, you know your child best so if you think they can sit for an hour and would enjoy it then please do bring them along!

Did you know? The word "dinosaur" was invented by Victorian palaeontologist Richard Owen, who lived in Richmond Park. 

Members special rate only £12.50. Please click here to join us and benefit from membership discounts and more.

Non-members £15.