SLANT 45
Service Learning Adventures in North Texas (SLANT 45) is a new partnership between Big Thought and the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee. 
The yearlong program, which launches in early 2010, revolves around service-learning projects undertaken by 3rd - 5th graders in North Texas, though it is open to students of all ages. Groups of students will research community service opportunities in their community, perform a service and then reflect creatively on the impact on the neighborhood and themselves. SLANT 45 will affect an estimated 20,000 students throughout Collin, Dallas, Tarrant and Denton counties - and will result in more than 45,000 hours of community service for the region. The project will culminate in a very special event in the weeks before Super Bowl XLV in February 2011.
43rd President of the United States, The Honorable George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush are Honorary Chairs of the project; former Dallas Cowboy Daryl "The Moose" Johnston is Chair of the SLANT 45 Action Team. Roger Staubach and Emmitt Smith are among the local celebrities involved with SLANT 45 and the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee. SLANT 45 is funded through the generosity of Bank of America and Ted & Shannon Skokos.
For more information on SLANT 45, visit slant45.org and register your name to become a volunteer or group leader. For articles and interviews regarding the press announcement, which took place on September 21, 2009, visit our News & Media page.
Library Live! presented by Target
Library Live! is our monthly pre-literacy program which takes place in every Dallas Public Library branch. Big Thought artists present interactive, education and culture-based literacy activities for children and their families through music,dance, storytelling and visual art. Library Live! supports the Every Child Ready to Read @Dallas initiative to build pre-literacy skills in children ages 0-5. See our calendar of events for program locations and times.
Creative Solutions
This program, presented by Big Thought in partnership with the Dallas County Juvenile Department, gives at-risk teens a positive outlet for self-expression, teaches job skills and college readiness and helps 
them channel their energy and creativity into worthy pursuits. Taught by professional artist-mentors, students in the program receive visual or performing arts training and often discover raw talent, instilling confidence and inspiring them to stay in school, go on to college and seek new career paths.
The program has also been adapted to accommodate students in after-school programs at the middle school and high school levels. Students in the after-school program have made jewelry, painted textiles, learned photography and digital manipulation, written and performed spoken word and participated in events that highlight their work at local art galleries and showrooms.
In 2004, Creative Solutions was honored with a national Coming Up Taller Award by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities for its efforts to equip teens with valuable life skills and to encourage creative thinking, problem-solving and teamwork. Since 2007, Big Thought has partnered with Southern Methodist University's Meadows School of the Arts, which graciously hosts the summer program, the final performances and the gallery art exhibit.
It is important to let our young people know that where you have been does not determine who you can become. -José Antonio Bowen, Dean of the Meadows School of the Arts, SMU
North Texas Wolf Trap
Big Thought is a regional center of Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, one of the nation’s leading arts education practitioners. Wolf Trap’s master artists have trained local professional artists to teach their skills to preschool teachers to make the arts an everyday part of their curriculum on their own. The teacher learns from the artist’s expertise in creative drama, music, or movement, and the artist benefits from the teacher’s knowledge of child development and early childhood education.
Wolf Trap treats the arts experience as a process, rather than emphasizing the arts product. This method results in developmental improvements for children ages 3-5, including self-awareness and confidence, problem-solving skills, concentration and motivation and enthusiasm for learning. For more information on North Texas Wolf Trap, email Ann Symns, Program Operations Manager.