Steve's Herpetological Blog

An insight into the life of Steve, his research and the many books he reads

#MuseumMonday: My visit and a quick history of the Powell-Cotton Museum

Last autumn I was able to visit a museum that had been on my bucket list for a while. I had planned to visit while I was living in Canterbury undertaking my PhD at the University of Kent, however the…

#StevesLibrary: Neurodivergent, By Nature

First of all must come a confession. This is a book that I have been reading since August and have had to go back through a couple of times in order to really absorb it. The main reason for this…

#SciFri: The history of the Jardin des Plantes, Paris

The Jardin des Plantes is one of Paris’s most enduring and intellectually significant institutions. Situated on the Left Bank of the Seine in the 5th arrondissement, it is far more than a botanical garden. Over nearly four centuries, it has…

#SteveReviews: Kingdom

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of months, you’ve probably heard about Kingdom, which is a six-part British nature documentary series produced by BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit and narrated by Sir David Attenborough. Filmed…

#ToyTuesday: Herpetological Gashapon Round Up Vol. 3

This is the third roundup of my gashapon hunting, and the first of 2026! I have a few more adventures in store soon so fingers crossed I manage to pick up some new reptiles and amphibians. After my next adventure,…

#MuseumMonday: My visit to the Guildhall Museum

Set amid the historic heart of Rochester’s High Street, in Kent, England you can find the Guildhall Museum. is much more than a repository of old objects; it is a living tapestry of Medway’s long and evocative story. Housed in…

#MuseumMonday: My visit to Museum Koenig Bonn

If you love natural history museums as much as I do, then you’re going to love this post! I was able to visit the Museum Koenig in Bonn during September while visiting the area for the 23rd European Congress of…

#StevesLibrary: Top 10 Books on De-extinction

De-extinction refers to the scientific process of bringing extinct species back to life through advanced techniques such as cloning, genetic engineering, or selective breeding. This concept has gained attention due to breakthroughs in biotechnology, like extracting viable DNA from preserved…

#SciFri: Visiting Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth? at the Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum’s new temporary exhibition, Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth?, is an exercise in carefully calibrated wonder. It arrives at a time when space stories are no longer the sole province of headline-making missions and sci-fi fantasies:…

#MuseumMonday: A quick visit to the Natural History Museum, Colchester

Nestled at the end of Colchester’s High Street, directly opposite Colchester Castle and set within the atmospheric fabric of a medieval church, the Natural History Museum in Colchester is a small but remarkably rich local museum. It tells a regional…