This program was created by Mother Goose Programs, with funding provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The original project provided professional development and materials to help public librarians incorporate math and science into their programming and resources for children ages 4-7 and their families. The 60 participating librarians are spending four years focusing on the "big" ideas critical to children's acquisition of basic math and science skills and concepts: Patterns & Relationships, Change Over Time, Numbers and Operations and Geometry and Spatial Sense.

These librarians have converted what they learned into hundreds of library programs using project-related informational resources, picture books and math and science materials. In addition, they have enriched their circulating collections and outreach with What's the BIG Idea?™ Family Kits. The Librarian Kit contains standards-based, hands-on activities, book suggestions and materials tested by—and continuing to be implemented by—these librarians. School librarians and homeschoolers have also begun to implement What's the BIG Idea?™ into their existing programming as well, with excellent results.

Children learn math and science by doing math and science. They need to ask questions, have discussions, explore using a variety of materials, collect data and talk about what they're doing. Picture books are a powerful tool to help introduce children to math and science. The What's the BIG Idea?™ Librarian Kit and Family Kits will provide librarians, educators and families with everything they need to introduce math and science to children.

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