Immortalising Natural History in 3D: Research showcased at Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition

A team from Southampton were among the exhibitors at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition, sharing their work on digitally reconstructing living and extinct species with thousands of visitors.

The Immortalising Natural History in 3D stand encouraged visitors to explore their research through a range of interactive demonstrations and hands-on activities, showcasing how digital models are created from physical specimens.

Natural history museums hold millions of specimens – from fossils to extinct animals – that are essential for understanding the history and diversity of life on Earth, underpinning scientific discoveries.

However, many of these physical specimens are fragile and irreplaceable, and details may degrade over time and eventually be lost forever. In addition, access is limited to those who have the time and funds to visit collections.

The team uses non-destructive scanning methods to create ‘digital twins’ of museum specimens using advanced imaging techniques. This creates permanent digital records of specimens – preserving their detail, ensuring their future use, and democratising access.

It also enables scientists to access new data that would be impossible using the original specimens – such as taking novel measurements, running virtual experiments, and reconstructing fragile fossils.

The exhibition was led by Dr Alice Leavey , Research Fellow in Evolutionary Biology, with support from colleagues from across the university and University College London.

Among other activities, visitors had the chance to get hands-on with 3D-printed replicas of specimens and virtually reconstruct a 200-million-year-old fossil skull of a dinosaur-like creature.

Alice said: “We saw thousands of people, with tickets sold out across the board. We spoke to press, VIPs at the soirees, dozens of school groups, had a segment on BBC Radio 4, and I gave a talk on the 'Anatomy - old science meets new tech' panel as part of the Attenborough at 100 celebration.

“I couldn't have asked for a better team of exhibitors from Southampton - everyone came with such enthusiasm!”

Find out more about the Immortalising Natural History in 3D project