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News from the GeoparkCentre's prehistoric underwater world27 Jul 2009Visitors to Goodrington can now travel back 400 million years. A recreation of a tropical underwater world in Tor Bay where beautiful coral reefs flourished and armoured trilobites scuttled across the sea floor has been completed at the new English Riviera Geopark Room at the Seashore Centre in Goodrington. Visitors can take an imaginary journey back in time to experience what it was like on the English Riviera in prehistoric times thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Watery sounds and rippled light effects add to the illusion of being submerged in the kind of prehistoric marine environment which existed in the Devonian Period. Children can use a custom-made 'time machine' to see how the world has changed over millions of years and a microscope will allow them to get a closer look at their fossil finds. Emily Beale, Geopark education and community officer, said: "The addition of this room is a fantastic asset to the Seashore Centre and the education programme it provides. "When children visit they will be able walk from a familiar modern day rock pool into a tropical sea full of strange looking prehistoric creatures. "Allowing them to experience this very different environment through their imagination is a great way to teach them about the area's fascinating past." A selection of local fossils, including fragments of coral, have been loaned from Torquay Museum and feature in a display. They illustrate some of the amazing discoveries made by geologists in Torquay's Lummaton Quarry in the early 19th century and which led to the official naming of the Devonian Period. The Seashore Centre, run by Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust, is visited by approximately 2,500 school children and 12,000 members of the public each year and is particularly busy during the summer months. The addition of the new room promotes the Seashore Centre's status as a Geopark Gateway site. For more details on the work of the English Riviera Geopark and volunteering opportunities see the Geopark website www.englishrivierageopark .org.uk |