The opportunity to mingle with the country's top geoscientists, sieve for sapphires, blow up a volcano and even bump into a dinosaur is all on offer this coming weekend at Geoscience Australia's annual Open Day.

The opportunity to mingle with the country's top geoscientists, sieve for sapphires, blow up a volcano and even bump into a dinosaur is all on offer this coming weekend at Geoscience Australia's annual Open Day.

Attracting more than 8000 people in 2013, the Open Day offers a range of activities, science displays, tours and talks that showcase the Agency's wide range of work and the impact geoscience has on our everyday lives.

"Open Day is a wonderful avenue for us to share firsthand our activities and expertise that help to build knowledge of our land and marine environments, our natural resources and the impact that natural hazards have on our communities," said Dr James Johnson, Deputy CEO.

This year's Open Day will feature an exciting range of talks including working as a surveyor in Antarctica; using a super computer and satellite imagery to understand flood risk information; people and natural disasters; and everything you ever wanted to know about dinosaurs!

Open Day visitors will also get the chance to try their hand at gold panning, making their own sedimentary column, viewing Australia in 3D, and becoming a seafloor detective. A roving dinosaur will also be making appearances throughout the day.

"It is through public events like our Open Day that we generate community interest in our work and hope to inspire younger visitors to become tomorrow's geoscientists," Dr Johnson added.

The Geoscience Australia annual Open Day is a National Science Week feature event in the ACT.

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