IN the 1970's a very special rock paid a visit to Bolton.

This was no ordinary chunk of rubble but an extraordinary and very real piece of the Moon brought to Earth by the Apollo 11 crew.

The lunar samples were given to the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, by President Richard Nixon.

After a stint in London's Science Museum, the rock went on a tour of the UK, including a a stop at Bolton Museum from March to April 1972.

It is now to go on display once again as part of a new exhibition, The Moon, at the National Maritime Museum.

To mark this historic exhibition, curators are keen to collect memories of people who saw the rock at Bolton Museum to gain an insight into how people felt at the time and what it meant to see an object associated with the historic Apollo 11 landings.

David Rooney, science curator of The Moon exhibition, said: “We know that thousands of people went to museums across the country to see the Diplomatic Moon rock, but what we don’t know is their reaction to seeing an actual piece of the Moon in the years immediately following the Apollo 11 Moon landings.

“We’re really interested to learn more about this historic artefact, so we’re hoping that people will share their memories with us. As the exhibition goes on it will be great to see how public reactions from the 1970s compare to today, 50 years after humans first walked on the Moon.”

To share your memories visit www.rmg.co.uk/moonrock.