Calling all young explorers! Hidden in and around the green spaces of Manchester’s libraries will be 500 copies of Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock’s Am I Made of Stardust? lying in wait to be found.

Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock PhD is a space scientist whose passion is presenting science to an audience and demonstrating that you ‘don’t need a brain the size of a small planet’ to understand, participate in and enjoy science.

She studied at Imperial College London, where she obtained her degree in Physics and her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. She has spent her career making novel, bespoke instrumentation in both the industrial and academic environments including working on the James Webb Space Telescope and various satellite monitoring climate change. 

Dame Maggie says, “Libraries are such amazing places to fuel your rocket and jet off into all the places books can take you, for families to get together, and spend time having fun together. To take part in Look For A Book, follow your local Manchester library on social media to get the clues, then head out to parks, schools, libraries near you to get your hands on your copy and get exploring.”

As well as public speaking she is a bafta nominated TV presenter, co-hosting the world’s longest-running science television program The Sky at Night, which parents might recognise! Her exciting book Am I Made of Stardust? recently won the Royal Society book prize.

 

How to take part:

To take part and get your own copy of Am I Made of Stardust?, follow your local library on social media (you can follow us on @mcrcityoflit #FestivalofLibraries to keep up to date with the hunt too!) and look out for clues posted each morning of where to find these extra special book packs nearby. They will be in green spaces nearby, and some even hidden in the libraries themselves.

To get involved you can find the clues in your borough through the links below:

Bolton: Facebook / Instagram
Bury: Facebook
Manchester: Facebook / Instagram
Oldham: Facebook / Instagram
Rochdale: Facebook / Instagram
Salford: Facebook / Instagram
Stockport: Facebook / Instagram
Tameside: Facebook
Trafford: Facebook / Instagram
Wigan: Facebook / Instagram
The Portico Library: Facebook / Instagram / Bluesky

Once you’ve found a pack, there will be your very own copy of Am I Made of Stardust? to enjoy, plus instructions on how to claim your golden ticket, to be in with a chance to meet Maggie at an event during the Festival of Libraries itself in Manchester! Good luck treasure hunters.

 

Look For A Book is the introduction to Festival of Libraries, which sees Greater Manchester’s entire library network put on a programme of exciting and celebratory activities. All of the libraries across Greater Manchester are taking part; from historic and internationally renowned libraries like Central Library, The Portico and John Rylands Research Institute and Library to the A to Z of community libraries, which take you from Abraham Moss Library to Z-Arts Children’s Library.