Late in the evening of 28 February 2021, pieces of very dark rock fell in Winchcombe, Cleeve Hill, Woodmancote and Bishops Cleeve. The largest piece shattered when it hit a driveway in Winchcombe. The owners of the driveway, the Wilcock family, were puzzled. Where had the rocks come from? What should they do with them? Our special exhibition tells how cameras, computers and careful planning by scientists helped to solve the mystery, and confirmed the UK's first meteorite fall for 30 years. You can find out how the event made headlines all over the world, what the meteorite means to the scientists, and how a billion dollars has been spent retrieving similar rocks from asteroids in space.
The Winchcombe meteorite is 4.6 billion years old and pre-dates the earth itself. It is of a very rare type, known as a carbonaceous chondrite. Only 3% of meteorites are of this type, and they are of great scientific importance because they may have brought the water and organic matter that led to the first life on Earth.
The Wilcock family
Our special exhibition tells the remarkable story of the meteorite’s arrival and explains its significance as a witness to a time when the solar system was still being formed.
Three fragments are on display in the meteorite room
Is this rock really 4.6 billion years old? Wow!
A "detective" from the BBC's "The One Show" studies the meteorite
