GB3D type fossils online

In 2011 BGS received £691k from Jisc to work with the University Museum of Natural History, Oxford, the Sedgwick Museum, Cambridge, the National Museum Wales, Cardiff and several local museums to re-photograph our type fossil collections (including producing stereo anaglyphs), laser scan approximately 2,000 specimens and build a web portal for the data, which is now up and largely populated. The launch generated world-wide attention, with press interviews running for several days and a Reuters video running on the Scientific American website. Website visitors peaked at 72,619 in September 2013 following the launch, but have remained stable round 3 – 4,000 a month since. BGS have received several requests for 3d prints for teaching or museum display purposes (including from the National Museum Wales and Manchester University) and Jisc have invited BGS to run a scanning and printing demonstration throughout their two day “Digital Festival” in Birmingham. BGS have also received numerous visits from academics (e.g. Bath University) and groups interested in observing our methods.