Ever wondered how rocks can hold the secret of Earth's past? Join us at Birkbeck, University of London, for an immersive BSc Planetary Science with Astronomy taster session, where you'll uncover the hidden stories locked inside the rocks beneath your feet.
Your day begins with a tour of our central London campus, led by one of our student ambassadors - a great chance to ask questions about studying at Birkbeck and what university life here is really like. After the tour, you’ll head into the petrology suite, where your taster session, using our state-of-the-art petrological microscopes, begins.
This session explores the relationship between deep time, mineral chemistry, microstructures and the effects of pressure and temperature on rocks and their fabrics. You’ll get to handle real rock samples and then watch how they’re transformed into thin slices under a microscope, revealing a kaleidoscope of colours and the hidden stories locked inside them.
Studying BSc Planetary Science with Astronomy at Birkbeck gives you the scientific tools to investigate Earth and other worlds - from their formation to the processes that shape them today. With flexible evening teaching, the course fits around your life while opening pathways into exciting areas of Earth and planetary science.
This taster course is open to students in Year 11 (GCSE or equivalent year), Year 12, Year 13 (final year A Level/IB students) and anyone who is thinking of starting their undergraduate studies in September 2026 or in September 2027.