Site last updated: 2nd December 2024.
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The Society was formed in 1971 with the inaugural evening meeting held in April of that year. Now, in 2024, SMFS has been in existence for 53 years and we are still going strong.

SMFS is one of the oldest amateur mineral and fossil societies in the UK. The aims of the Society are to promote interest, good practice and expertise in the collecting, conservation and identification of minerals and fossils and, where possible, to document the sites where they are found. We are a friendly group of people sharing a common interest in studying geology, rocks, minerals and fossils. Find out more About SMFS and what activities we get up to.

Our next evening meeting is on Tuesday 17th December 2024 starting at 19:00 at the Oasis Academy Lord's Hill, Romsey Road, Southampton, SO16 8FA. The evening meeting will be a practical session looking at "Fluorescent Minerals and Fossils." With a short introduction to this fantastic phenomena and a discussion of the safety of handling UV. Most of the evening will be spent looking at the treasures that people bring in, minerals and fossils, such as amber. Fluorescence is also a useful tool for spotting glue and paint in faked specimens.
The Oasis Academy Lord's Hill is on the number 4 bus route between Southampton and Romsey. Parking is free on site, access to the car park is from Redbridge Lane. Full directions to the Oasis Academy from Google Maps© are available here: directions & map. For satellite navigation systems the street is Romsey Road, Lordshill, Southampton. Use the postcode SO16 0XN.

Members' Display: Your fluorescent minerals, fossils, suspected fakes and UV lamps.

Throughout the year we hold indoor and online meetings, field trips, visits and other activities. Please see our Meetings Programme for full details. New members and guests are always welcome, we encourage families with young children to join. You can come along any time to one of our meetings and find out more. We meet on the 3rd Tuesday of every month throughout the year at the Oasis Academy Lord's Hill, Romsey Road, Southampton, SO16 8FA starting at 19:00 to around 21:00. For further information, and directions on how to find us, please go to our Membership Page or contact us via the link above.

The next Hampshire Mineral & Fossil Show will be on Saturday 20th September 2025 at the Oasis Academy Lord's Hill. Sorry if you missed it this year, we hope to see you September 2025.

The Hampshire Mineral & Fossil Show takes place at the Oasis Academy Lord's Hill, Romsey Road, Lord's Hill, Southampton SO16 8FA from 10:00 to 16:00. For more information go to the Show Page. We look forward to meeting you at the Show next September.

As well as information about Southampton Mineral & Fossil Society this site has pages on Minerals and Fossils, particularly from the South Coast of England. There are Features on other aspects of our hobby from themed trade cards, collecting equipment to members' individual collections. There are Links to other UK groups with mineral and fossil interests as well as other sites from the UK that may be of interest including UK mineral and fossil dealers that we can recommend.

Since 1979 SMFS has met at the Friends' Meeting House in Southampton. Unfortunately due to the excessive increase of parking charges imposed by the City Council we are now moving to a new, more modern venue at the Oasis Academy Lord's Hill, Southampton where there is ample free parking and easy access to the well lit meeting room with full presentation equipment. We would welcome you to visit one of our meetings as a guest.

Information about the 2025 Hampshire Mineral & Fossil Show is now available on the Show Page. We have moved from our previous location in Lyndhurst to the Oasis Academy Lord's Hill, Southampton where there is free parking, a large, well lit exhibition space and better facilities. We hope to see you there.

Our meetings and field trip programmes for 2024 are published on Programme Page. We are resumed our monthly evening meetings in April 2024 at the Oasis Academy Lord's Hill, Southampton. Our Programme Page has full details of what is coming up. This will be updated as we arrange meetings and other activities.

A new book "The New Forest Geology and Fossils", by SMFS member James Barnet, has been published. See the full details and other news item updates on our News Page: News and links to other sites.

The Minerals Page has had a complete make over and now features some of the minerals collected by SMFS members from sites along the South Coast of England from Devon to Kent. Take a look at the Minerals Page, Minerals from the South Coast.

A new feature article has been added to the Features Page: What caused the Cretaceous/Paleogene mass extinction? Southampton Mineral & Fossil Society member James Barnet shares some of his PhD research at the University of Exeter that can help to shed some new light on the Cretaceous/Paleogene mass extinction. What caused the Cretaceous/Paleogene mass extinction? page.

Our News Page and links to other sites of interest has been updated. Take a look here News Page. On the News Page you can now find a download link for the book "Four Decades of Southampton Mineral & Fossil Society", produced by Anita Wolfe to celebrate our 40th anniversary in 2011. Take a look here Four Decades of SMFS.

You can bookmark this site by using the link to the left. Please update any old bookmarks or favourites lists that you may have. You can also keep up to date with SMFS on Facebook.