Steve's Herpetological Blog

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

Natural History

#SciFri: What can you expect at the Bonn University Botanical Garden?

As you may have seen from my previous blog on the Museum Koenig Bonn, I was in Germany in September. Another of the places I visited whilst I was there is the Bonn University Botanic Garden. From the moment you…

#SteveReviews: Prehistoric Planet – Ice Age

When Prehistoric Planet first premiered in 2022, it vaulted natural-history storytelling into a new era by marrying cutting-edge visual effects with immersive narration and the scientific authority of the BBC Natural History Unit. Its first two seasons (about dinosaurs and…

#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…

#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…

#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…

#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…

#SciFri: Mythical Creatures at Colchester Castle

I recently spent some time in Colchester catching up with my younger brother, and we decided to visit Colchester Castle while we were nearby. We tried to go there as a family once when we were children (back in 2001)…

#MuseumMonday: My thoughts on the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

As you’ve probably seen from my recent post about visiting the GIANTS exhibition, I’ve been to Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) and therefore it is time to feature it for #MuseumMonday. This museum sits in the heart of the…