What's the Big Idea | Big Idea | Math and Science in your library

MATH & SCIENCE LITERACY CONNECTIONS BIG IDEA WEBINARS WORKBOOKS

book lists Librarian kits Family kits and more kits research standards resources

"What's the BIG Idea? has opened up my mind to many rich experiences for the children at my library programs. Parents are motivated by the program because they discover that learning is exciting and that they are capable of leading their children in exploring, experimenting, and observing their surroundings and learning through carefully crafted activities, frequent reading, and thoughtful conversation."
—Librarian in Houston, TX

"I never knew learning could be so much fun! Building, sorting, collecting data—the children in my programs are clamoring for more!"
—New York librarian

What’s the BIG Idea?™ was developed by Mother Goose Programs™ with funding provided by the National Science Foundation.

All of the What's the BIG Idea?™ content (activities, family programs, Discovery Centers, etc.) was first tested by 57 librarians from Houston (led by Rose Treviño, Youth Services Coordinator), the state of Delaware (led by Patricia Langley, Administrative Librarian), the Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library System in upstate New York and two Vermont towns. These four systems provided a mix of librarians from large and small, urban and rural librarians.

During the pilot phase these librarians engaged in four conferences focusing on “big” ideas critical to children’s acquisition of basic math and science skills and concepts: Patterns and Relationships, Numbers and Operations, Change Over Time and Geometry and Spatial Sense. A National Advisory Panel informed the development of the program.

The participating librarians converted what they learned into hundreds of programs in local libraries using project-created informational resources, books, and manipulatives. In addition, they enriched their circulating collections and outreach with What’s the BIG Idea? kits for families.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0514746. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Prices listed are U.S. Domestic prices only and apply to orders shipped within the United States. Orders from outside the United States must be ordered directly with our company and may be charged additional distributor, customs, and shipping charges. Occasionally, substitutions may be necessary due to the availability of books and materials.