Volcanoes and Earthquakes

Epic forces are at work every day, changing the face of our planet.

Through dramatic film footage, exhibits, interactive games and our famous earthquake simulator, explore how the powers within shape the world in which we live in the Volcanoes and Earthquakes gallery.

Examine fossils from a time when all Earth's continents were joined, and the animals that evolved after the continents separated. See lava bombs, volcanic glass hair, and crystals created under intense pressure beneath Earth's surface.

Star specimens and exhibits

• the earthquake simulator, showing what it was like during the 1995 Kobe, Japan earthquake
• the heat suits and field equipment used by scientists studying volcanoes
• casts of victims from the Mount Vesuvius eruption of AD 79
• objects melted by lava flows
• hydrothermal vents that release hot magma from under the sea
• historic seismographic equipment
• building techniques to guard against earthquake damage