Your Argus
TEXT your pictures, videos and messages to 80360. Start your message with SUPIC or email your tip-offs »
Brighton schoolboy sets up geology museum
9:40pm Thursday 4th September 2008
A rock-mad schoolboy has learnt so much about geology he has set up his own museum to teach other people about his favourite subject.
Nine-year-old Lewis Winyard has spent years collecting rocks, minerals, gemstones, shells, fossils and meteorites.
The pupil at Balfour Junior School in Balfour Road, Brighton, set up the mini-museum in the garden of his home in Surrenden Road, Brighton, and sent hand-made invitations to his guests.
The youngster spent six months planning the one-day event and manned the museum from 10am until 4pm, explaining his various exhibits to his visitors, who included family members, friends, neighbours and his leader from the 44th Brighton Scout Group.
Lewis, whose favourite school subject is science, said: “I’ve been collecting them over a long period.
“I started with a few little gemstones and then I got a bit interested in volcanoes and geology and I started collecting minerals.
“I got some from boot sales and found some fossils at Lyme Regis. I just became really interested in the whole thing.”
The museum is the second Lewis has set up, after he created a smaller one last year. He said: “I like the idea of setting up museums and thought I had a large enough collection to make a mini-museum. So my mum lent me her gazebo and I set it up in there.
“When the visitors came I explained about each of my collections to them and I think they found it interesting.”
His father Roger said: “Lewis has been interested in this for some time and has got quite a good collection of rocks, fossils and gemstones.
“It was all his own idea – we just helped him with some of the logistics.
“His visitors were really interested and stayed for quite a while.
“We just support the kind of things he gets interested in, by buying him books on the subject and helping him to find items for his collection.”
As well as enjoying science Lewis is also a member of his school’s drama and art clubs, and he plays the piano.
Looking to the future, the youngster already has several plans for what he wants to be when he grows up.
He said: “I’m interested in lot of different things. I wanted to be a doctor but I’d also like to be an astronaut and a geologist.”
Your Say YourArgus
Talconest, rusper says...
8:49am Fri 5 Sep 08
Also, I hop his public liability insurance is up to scratch, as i`d hate to have my visit to the museum spoilt by tripping over his spinning top.
Talconest, rusper says...
8:54am Fri 5 Sep 08
My dad gave me a very valuable lesson in market forces by telling me Fine Fare was a much better option owing to competetive pricing, ample parking and petrol sales.
My brother and I aged around 5 & 8 at the time aproached Liptons with a view to being bought out.
It was not to be, we put our mums tins back, wound up the business and resorted to our favourite pastime of burying matchbox cars in the flower beds.
Biggles.., Burgess Hill says...
11:51am Fri 5 Sep 08
Don`t let the health and safety bods worry you!
This is the kind of youngster this country needs I say, more interest in the real world and less interest in these infernal computer game thingamybobs.
And forget being a doctor, all those grubby people with all their germs what! Plenty of rocks on Mars to explore.. I`d get your application to NASA in now young man..
Keep up the good work..
Pip pip!!
Your sayYourArgus
Add your comment
Register for a FREE The Argus account and you can have your say on today's news and sport by adding comments on articles we publish. The best comments may even get published in the paper.
Please register now or sign in below to continue.
Nine-year-old Lewis Winyard is so keen on geology that he set up a museum in his parents’ garden in Brighton
In this section
- Gang attack at school gates
- City schools fail to feature in top 500
- A day in the life of a homeless couple
- Father dies after bike crash
- £30,000 bill still unpaid by festival
- A honeymoon - six years late
- Man's shock at 'gay Oscars assault'
- Wife decides it's war over game addiction
- Spectacular pier show by starlings
- Postcode lottery for quality hospital food
Sponsored Links
Editor's Choice
Peggy Sue, The Hanbury Club, Brighton, November 19
Things have changed in the past 12 months for Brighton's own Peggy Sue. For a start, the duo of Rosa Rex and Katy Klaw has ditched the And The Pirates tag on their name.
Round The Horne - Unseen And Uncut, Theatre Royal, New Road, Brighton, Nov 18-22
A total of 15 million listeners - that's a quarter of the population - listened to Round The Horne in the 1960s.
Comment: Opportunities lie out west in Shoreham
When Brighton was a little fishing village, buffeted by great storms and pillaged by the perfidious French, Shoreham was a substantial settlement.
Talent show for region's digital media
Some of the biggest names in digital media will be fighting to be named best in the business at a new awards ceremony.
Local Services
Local Information
Enter your postcode, town or place name
son of meg mortimer, Hove says...
11:40pm Thu 4 Sep 08