#maggie aderin-pocock

[barbielore]

For the Barbie Role Models line (an extension of what was previously called the Sheroes line), every year Mattel releases a number of dolls in the likeness of various women who they consider deserving of praise and recognition, and to be held up as inspirational to young girls.

Most of these dolls are released as one of a kind releases that are given as gifts to the women they represent, though some have been released as more widespread collectors items as well.

For 2023, Mattel specifically honoured women in STEM, creating Barbies in the likeness of seven prominent women in STEM fields.

Three of these women were the Wojcicki sisters - Susan, the longterm CEO of YouTube, Anne, the co-founder and CEO of 23andMe, and Janet, Professor of Paediatrics and Epidemiology at University of California San Francisco.

Rounding out the list were Mexican science show host and electrical engineer, Katya Echazarreta, UK space scientist and space educator, Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock, German marine researcher and microbiologist Dr. Antje Boetius, and Chinese cofounder of ETU Education, Yinuo Li.

[iamanathemadevice]

Space scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock given Barbie honour

A space scientist, best known for presenting BBC One's The Sky at Night and CBeebies Stargazing, is to be honoured with a Barbie doll.

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock has been named as a Barbie Role Model for her work promoting science careers to girls.

It comes ahead of International Women's Day on Wednesday and British Science Week from 10-19 March.

[writernotwaiting]

[pers-books]

[ID Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock with her Barbie self, which has a model telescope on its right and is wearing a purple dress with stars on it.]

Dr Aderin-Pocock said: "When I was little, Barbie didn't look like me, so to have one created in my likeness is mind-boggling.

"It's such an honour to receive this doll that is celebrating my achievements."

[ID Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock smiling at her Barbie doll. She is wearing the purple dress with stars and moons on it that was the inspiration for the Barbie model’s dress.]

Toy creator Mattel, known for releasing dolls in honour of celebrities, is also recognising six other STEM professionals globally.

Kelly Philp, marketing director at Mattel UK, said: "We know that globally STEM is a field widely recognised as under-representing women, so as a brand, Barbie is committed to showing girls more STEM careers.

"In the UK, research tells us women make up only 26% of the STEM workforce, so showcasing an exciting career in space science like Dr Maggie's is just one way we are inspiring girls to think differently about their career opportunities."

Other Barbie Role Models include Covid-19 vaccine creator Prof Sarah Gilbert, broadcaster Clara Amfo, sprinter Dina Asher-Smith, teen skateboarder Sky Brown and boxer Nicola Adams.

[potatoknitsmysteriouscoinkidink]

I just love her

[panelshowsource]

rather than who you would like to see on the next taskmaster series, who do you think will be on it? like just your predictions or any inklings you may have!

anon if you're still around then you'll know i really took my time with this hahaha so sorry! i hope anyone reading this takes it as just a bit of fun and nbd, who knows who we'll get or who alex & the network have in mind! i'm answering thoughtfully (bc i always feel guilty not to 😩 so sorry this is long lol) but it's really just fun!!

i will say, of the more recent-ish series, i did get a few right!!! krishnan guru-murthy, nicola coughlan, alan davies, judi love, sue perkins, john robins, and joanne mcnally were people i just knew would eventually be on if the show could get their schedules right, and i was also certain sarah millican and dara ó briain would be asked — though not necessarily that they'd actually agree. when you have a level of seniority and esteem, the "it's such a great opportunity" aspect of the show isn't such a draw 😅 for some reason i feel SO PROUD about guessing nicola! i was just WAITING and wish sooooo much she had done a full series 😭😭😭 (how fun would saoirse-monica jackson be too!)

anyways, as for people who haven't been on yet — and this isn't to say i want them all to be, just that i think it's likeliest they have been asked or will be asked; i talked about who i want to see a little while ago here — it's important to consider the casting 'roles' the network has in mind when working with the producers to form a series, so i will keep that in mind too!

established comedian, typically a straight white man over 40: bill bailey, vic reeves, harry hill, geoff norcott, kevin bridges, adam buxton, ade edmondson, paul whitehouse (tommy tiernan? god i feel bad for not saying ed byrne but why do i feel like he's not gonna make it in the next few series? i'm on the fence with nick helm — unless he's friends with alex, then his chances go up significantly imo — and tom allen for some reason, and i feel like john bishop is almost too much of an ask?)

fresh talent comedian, typically a man under 40: rhys james, huge davies, ahir shah, darren harriott would be my top guesses but tbh any of the semi-recent edinburgh comedy award finalists are good bets as a majority of the winners from the last ~10 years have been on the series + throwing out tom rosenthal (i know he's not fresh fresh and also mostly an actor)...and, like, jazz emu?...just because if taskmaster know how much its audience adores weird little white twinks then they'll cast them

female or non-binary comedian: 100% sarah keyworth + harriet kemsley, maisie adam, jess fostekew, suzi ruffell. i've shifted away from betting on cariad lloyd and catherine bohart for some reason... (joanne was my no.1 lady bet for the last like 4 series hahaha)

non-comedian: this is very, very hard to predict because between comedy actors, non-comedy actors, tv presenters, news people, reality & social media stars... the potential predictions are just so endless! logically, the most likely is an established actor with a lot of comedy connections (think sally phillips, lolly adefope, liza tarbuck, sian gibson, daisy may cooper, susan wokoma; this category is where tm gets quite a few of its female contestants): matt holness, kevin eldon, amanda abbington, tom davis, sharon horgan, kathy burke, georgia tennant (also friends w alex?), su pollard, tom basden, apparently anyone from the cast of ghosts, and so on and so on and so on... + i'll also throw out maggie aderin-pocock as a serious contender + i really feel like one of the spice girls will be on new years treat

friend of alex: john robins was the prediction for the past few series, so just worth keeping in mind other people in this circle include elis james, matthew crosby, tom neenan, and so on

freebie answers because alex/greg have mentioned them before: jack dee, lorraine kelly, joanna lumley (i want jennifer saunders SO BAD give us an epic series w both ade and jen pleaseeee tm gods!!!!)

complete wild card bets that are either my instincts kicking in or my bias taking over: limmy, adam buxton, paddy mcguinness, diane morgan, daniel sloss, joel dommett, jess hynes, spencer jones??, alasdair beckett-king or josh pugh + if suzy izzard wasn't doing a big nyc show i'd say that's a good guess if only bc you know greg & alex grew up big fans

did i mention too many people?? if i had to put my money behind a single person it would be either ahir shah or sarah keyworth

these are almost all of my fr big heavy hitters when it comes to placing bets! but there are of course so many people i didn't name who i could totally see on either a main series or the ny treat — so many people just make sense and that's the beauty of taskmaster!!

[hbcsource]

@hayfestival: Backstage at yesterday's A Nursery Rhyme for Every Night of the Year event. Allie Esiri and special guests offered up a joyful session of stories and rhymes featuring Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Brian Bilston, Helena Bonham Carter, JB Gill, Tony Robinson, Michael Rosen, Samuel West, Olivia Williams and Julia Donaldson. Allie’s anthology A Nursery Rhyme for Every Night of the Year is a definitive collection of nursery rhymes, each introduced with a quirky fact or historical reference. Readers of all ages will love it. 📸: @billie_charity #HayFestival #HayFestival2023 #AllieEsiri #helenabonhamcarter

[emeraldlabyrinth]

August's Super Blue Moon

A super blue moon may not actually be blue but it's still especially beautiful.

To celebrate this rare splendor, here's a little list of some books I found about the moon.

The Moon by the Royal Observatory

science and history

The Quiet Moon by Kevin Parr

Folklore and culture

From The Earth To The Moon by Jules Verne

A fiction book written before the first moon landing

Book of The Moon by Dr. Maggie Aderin-Pocock

A mixture of science, culture, history, and the potential future of the moon.

[sophie-e-b]

Maggie Aderin-Pocock is a space scientist and science communicator and presenter of The Sky at Night and the BBC's GCSE Science Live! lectures.  She also presented the series Out of this World, on CBBC during lockdown with her daughter, Lauren, now 11. 

Maggie had her daughter when she was 42 and carried on doing science talks around the world, often with her little girl on stage with her, for the first 4 years of Lauren's life.  I particularly marvelled at the Royal Institute lecture I found on YouTube of Maggie tackling the subject of Careers in Science while Lauren sat happily in a sling on her hip, occasionally chewing a microphone cover or snuggling into her mum, while Maggie did the ultimate 'spinning plates' of continuing to deliver her science lecture.

She has had a lifelong desire to get into space, something that has spurred her on through A levels, University and her career in space science, including working on the detection of landmines and on the James Webb telescope.

It was fascinating talking to Maggie about her childhood including coping with dyslexia and going to 13 different schools in 14 years during her parents turbulent divorce.

We had a lot of giggles, as well as touching on some incredibly mighty subjects...you know, life, the universe and everything!  I loved hearing about the scale of the universe; what might be out there still to be discovered; and how Maggie is hoping the current 'Battle of the Billionaires' to get into space might help her and her daughter fulfill their dream of space travel. I found her enthusiasm completely infectious and i think it’s also possible I found someone who talks as fast as me!!

Listen now: http://smarturl.it/spinningplatesShow less

[projectourworld]

Winchester. The space scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock poses at Winchester Science Centre and Planetarium with a one-of-a-kind Barbie doll in her likeness, in celebration of International Women’s Day and British Science Week. Aderin-Pocock has been recognised for her achievements in making space and science accessible to young girls. Her doll features a starry dress and comes with a telescope accessory, a nod to her work with the James Webb space telescope ; Photograph: Mattel/PA ; Observer Images #internationalwomansday #space #science #jameswebb #telescope

[laziestgirlintown]

Obviously the moon, the earth, and the solar system move - that's why the waxing crescent (new) moon is in one place in your evening sky one month, and a place higher, lower, more east or more west, the next. You can see this every month.

But the distance between the moon and the earth is actually also changing. This will take longer though, thankfully. From Book of the Moon by Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock:

Thank the moon for moving 🌙

what do you think of the moon

I hope it stayes where it is

[jingszo]

Quoting respected members of the scientific community that included UK astrophysicists Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Becky Smethurst, as well as astronaut Tim Peake, all of whom seemed to strongly allude to a discovery currently still on the path toward peer review

“I think we are going to get a paper that claims to have strong evidence for a biosignature in an exoplanet’s atmosphere very, very soon,” Smethurst was quoted saying. “Let’s just say it’s on my bingo card for 2024.”

Peake had been even less ambiguous while speaking during a CNBC interview in the first days of the new year, where he said the prospects that alien life might have been discovered were looking increasingly good.

“Potentially, the James Webb telescope may have already found [it],” though also emphasizing that nothing conclusive had been released yet since scientists involved in the prospective discovery “don’t want to release or confirm those results until they can be entirely sure,” though adding cryptically that “we found a planet that seems to be giving off strong signals of biological life.”

In other words, if these observations are what they appear to be, then it seems like there’s a good chance that we may already be on course for a tremendous discovery this year; one that could potentially offer the most convincing evidence to date that life may exist on worlds beyond our own.

[jillepathy]

I’ve only read 11 books this year, but they were a good mix of fiction and nonfiction. My favorite book of 2023 was The Book of the Moon by Maggie Aderin-Pocock, space scientist and real life Barbie. My top genres were LGBTQIA+, Feminism, and Memoirs. My goal for this year is to diversify my reading material even more! Thanks to these authors for getting me through another horrific year.

[rocketshipheroes]

‘Call me chief priestess for the moon goddess’: space scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock | Astronomy | The Guardian