BGS Online Shop Christmas Gift Ideas / / by BGS Comms

The festive period is upon us, and it’s that time of year when you’d usually be planning a trip to your favourite Geology Shop. A visit to Edinburgh, Keyworth or London can set you up with a sack full of goodies for the geologist(s) and rock lovers in your life.

Just because our physical stores are currently closed, there’s no need to worry! We also have an online shop with many niche geological goodies created using BGS data. Here we have highlighted our gneiss’ist gifts which will rock the recipient's world!

However, if you do fancy a visit in person to see even more items like rocks, fossils and jewellery that aren’t available online, our London shop in the Natural History Museum will be reopening on Thursday 3rd December! 

Jigsaw Puzzles




Our popular jigsaw puzzles are a piece-full activity to do as the nights draw in! There are two 1000-piece options to choose from; the modern Bedrock Geology map of the United Kingdom and Ireland, or the William Smith 1820 map.

Test your geology and geography knowledge by piecing the geological maps together and learn as you go! 

Bicentennial Map Mugs and Coasters



The bicentennial map commemorates the two-hundredth anniversary of the publication of the first geological map of Britain, by William Smith (1769-1839). It depicts modern geological bedrock data in the style of Smith’s early nineteenth century cartography.


From this map, we have colourful mugs and coasters that cover a wide range of areas. The coasters (23 designs) are the perfect stocking filler and prevent stains on your worktops and papers, and are the perfect resting place for a beau-tea-ful mug (16 designs). Together, they make for a great gift set! If you need help finding the area you want, check out these handy reference guides for the mugs and coasters.
 

British Dinosaur Posters




We have some roar-some posters for the dinosaur fanatics! They have a diverse set of illustrated British dinosaurs from our distant past with locations of remains, information on scale and diet as well as a guide and explanation of the dinosaur’s name. There are Cretaceous and Jurassic & Triassic versions available individually or as a set.

Tea Towel



This tea towel is a great way to bring geology into your kitchen; maybe it might even make washing the dishes fun?! This geological map of the British Isles originally published in 1969 includes the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands and a small area of France's English Channel coastline.

Flat Maps/Custom Maps 



Flat geological maps are a way to jazz up any wall space; whether you decide to frame them or leave them as they are, we have a large range available. If you are interested in a particular area, you can use this map browser to see the options available.

We also have custom 1:50 000 maps which you can centre on your area of interest! This is particularly useful when the area may be close to the edges of a map sheet on other map scales.

If you want smaller-scale area (i.e. most of the United Kingdom or Great Britain), our favourites are the Bicentennial Map and the Bedrock Geology of the UK and Ireland.

William Smith 1815 Print  




This print of William Smith's 1815 geological map comes beautifully presented in an A3 mount. Smith mapped the geology of England, Wales and the south of Scotland all by himself, being the first to map the geology of an entire nation - a great accomplishment! He did so by realising that fossils appeared in the same stratigraphic order, meaning he could predict the occurrence of different rock types. You can get a copy of your own Smith map, as it was when he created it, here


That was just a small selection of some of our favourite products, and we hope you’ve gotten some inspiration. There are lots more great gifts for those special people in your life – or even as a little treat for yourself. Simply visit the Geology Shop to browse our full selection.

If you want to visit the London shop at the Natural History Museum, you will need to book your free timed ticket on the Natural History Museum website. We are open Monday-Friday between 10:00-17:50 but please note we are closed on bank holidays.

From all of us at BGS, we hope you have a great Festive Season! 


Comments