IT’S nearly time for the return of a popular festival.

Lyme Regis Fossil Festival returns this weekend, from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, 6, and organisers said there’s something for the whole family to look forward to.

This year’s theme is Lyme Through Time: 200 million years of geological time and 200 years of discovery.

One of the organisers, Helen Tweedale, who works at the Lyme Regis Development Trust, said: “The rocks and fossils around Lyme Regis and Charmouth date back to the start of the Jurassic period and yet we have only spent the last 200 years unravelling the stories that they contain. Who knows what else there is to be discovered, while ever more powerful technologies enable us to discover more.”

Activities will be taking place in the Hub, the Jubilee Pavilion, under the shelters and in the main marquee above the amusement arcade, while the festival is centred on the old town and seafront.

Helen added: “There will be lots of great, free, hands-on activities for all ages. You could sieve to find your own fossils, use electron microscopes, help construct a 3D model dinosaur, solve a dinosaur crime using fossil forensics or step back in time to find out how ammonite fossils actually formed. There are talks on the Friday and Saturday evenings, with guided walks all weekend. Plenty for every age and ability.”

As with previous years, the Natural History Museum, along with both national and regional science organisations, museums and universities will be displaying their work in the Earth Sciences. There will be plenty of hands on activities together with great walks and talks.

Visitors can meet scientists from the Natural History Museum, Palaeontological Association, British Antarctic Survey, Natural England, Southampton University, Dorset Geologists, Geological Society, Lyme Regis Museum, Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre, National Trust, Dorset Wildlife Trust, Dinosaur Isle and many more. Entry to festival venues is free, although the usual entry fee for the museum will apply and there is a small charge for walks and talks.

For more information, visit www.fossilfestival.co.uk/