Speaking of digital palaeontology… Welcome to VAMP, the Virtual Australian Museum of Palaeontology! Together with some colleagues from the Flinders University Palaeontology lab, we have created an online museum that you can access from any computer or smart phone. Via our online museum, we are scanning, sharing and celebrating 600 million years of spectacular digital Australian fossils in 3D.

VAMP has more than 500 scans of Australian fossils, ranging from the earliest enigmatic early cellular life of the Ediacaran Period, to recently extinct megafaunal giants (and much more in between!) We have more than 30 scans of trace fossils, such as animal footprints, more than 30 genera of Australian vertebrates, and bespoke teaching sets available for educators.
Best of all, the website is completely free for you to explore and interact directly with 3D models of rare Australian fossils.
VAMP launched officially last night at an event held at Flinders University at Victoria Square, Adelaide, Australia. It has been fabulous to work with Jacob van Zoelen and Aaron Camens in the leadership team to bring VAMP to life.

But we couldn’t have done it without lots of help! VAMP is a Flinders University-led initiative, with support from Flinders Microscopy & Microanalysis, the South Australian Museum, the Western Australian Museum, and the Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, and MorphoSource. We also had many staff, mentors and volunteers giving generous support and guidance who have been invaluable.
Please read more about VAMP in our article published yesterday in The Conversation “A new virtual museum reveals 600 million years of Australian fossils in unprecedented 3D detail”, or listen to the Pals in Palaeo episode about VAMP here.
We are always on the lookout for new partners and more scans, so if you’d like to be involved then please get in touch.
** EXPLORE THE VAMP WEBSITE HERE **