PEOPLE are being invited to delve into the art and science of one of the region's most famous sons.

The Cook 250 festival will be a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the explorer James Cook's first expedition to the South Seas in 1768.

North Yorkshire County Council's library service successfully applied for £37,610 from the Arts Council to fund a series of projects culminating in an exhibition at Whitby library to contribute to the July festival, which is organised by Scarborough Borough Council and local groups.

The work will be delivered in partnership with Scarborough-based art and science organisation Invisible Dust, the County Record Office and volunteers from Whitby and Great Ayton libraries.

The work with Invisible Dust will uncover the role of celebrated botanist Joseph Banks and artist Sydney Parkinson, who travelled with Cook to collect and document plants and animals. New artworks developed with local people will form an exhibition at Whitby library as part of the festival from July 6 to 8.

Whitby is at the heart of the Cook story. He trained as an apprentice and learned seafaring and navigation skills with a local Quaker family in what is now the Cook Memorial Museum building and his ship, the Endeavour, was built in Whitby.

Artists Fiona Macdonald and Ahilapalapa Rands and writer Natasha Pulley, author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, will work with volunteers, the County Record Office, Whitby Naturalists, young people from Caedmon College, Eskdale School and Whitby Fishing School and the public to create new works that explore the impact of Cook’s expedition.