Due to weather conditions, the Butterfly Rainforest will close at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Last entry at 12:30 p.m. More Info

Good books broaden our horizons and inspire new conversations, no matter where we are! We were so proud to partner with Alachua County Library District in support of the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read, a series of events building community while lifting the voices of women in science.

We began the NEA Big read in September 2020 and held our final event in March 2021. It was so inspiring to bring together young scientists with current scientists to talk about careers in STEM, as well as what life looked like as a scientist. We have immense gratitude for all of the speakers, students, researchers, librarians and the support team it took to coordinate this program. And special thanks goes out to Chelsea Collison and Jasmin Tran for having the big idea.

Please enjoy exploring the books, recorded Zooms, projects and more from the NEA Big Read!

Featured Events

NEA Big Read Series Schedule

Sept. 14 to 19, 2020– Book Pickup
Sept. 19, 2020NEA Big Read Kickoff: Lab Blitz
Sept. 24, 2020– Fieldwork Fails
Oct. 13, 2020– Book Meetup: Lab Girl
Nov. 17, 2020– Book Meetup: Lab Girl
Dec. 5, 2020– Book Meetup: Swimming with Sharks
Jan. 12, 2021– Book Meetup: Lab Girl
Jan. 30, 2021Book Meetup: Evelyn the Adventurous Entomologist
Feb. 13, 2021Girls Do Science
Feb. 19, 2021– Keynote Speaker: Emily Graslie
March 18, 2021Keynote Speaker: Robin Wall Kimmerer
March 27, 2021– Book Meetup: Finding Wonders

Alachua Library NEA Big Read page

logos for the Alachua County Library and the NEA Big Reads program

NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.