National Institute 2026

Research shows that children 0-3 years need playful activities with a responsive caregiver to develop language, executive function, foundational STEM knowledge, and more. At this session, discover Big Playdates, a model program offered in libraries across the U.S. and Canada where parents and caregivers learn simple, language-boosting play activities they can do with everyday materials, from delivery boxes to salad spinners, scalable to a variety of library settings and beyond.
Staff from NYC's three library systems will present their own take on this innovative and flexible program model. Brooklyn Public Library staff will present an overview of how Playdates were developed in Brooklyn and provide the nuts and bolts for program implementation. 
New York Public Library colleagues will explore how transitioning from larger playdates to localized pop-ups enabled more play programs across branches and helped them develop their DIY play recipe database.
Queens Public Library colleagues will share how they adapted their program model to focus on various themes and highlight larger system-wide library initiatives.
Emma Gordon from Science Baby, an NYC-based STEM early learning program, will present the age-appropriate STEM activities she brings to BPL's annual Big Brooklyn Playdate. Participants will also learn what the research says about the benefits of play for children 0-3 years and how to develop their own scalable "Play Recipes" to encourage play in your libraries.