Schools

Bellmore-Merrick Schools Chosen for Bill Gates' "Big History Project"

The three high schools in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District (BMCHSD) have been chosen to be a part of Bill Gates' "Big History Project."

On Thursday, Calhoun High School and Mepham High School will be hosting a visit from Andy Cook, the Senior Director of the Bill Gates’ "Big History Project". Bellmore-Merrick is home to 3 of only 47 schools in the United States participating in the "Big History Project". The initiative is privately funded by Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates and managed by bgC3 LLC.

The "Big History Project" looks at the past on all time scales spanning 13.7 billion years, from the Big Bang to modernity, seeking out common themes and patterns. It uses a multi-disciplinary approach combining the disciplines of biology, astronomy, geology, climatology, prehistory, archeology, anthropology, cosmology, natural history, and population and environmental studies.

"The course then progresses to cover the development of stars, elements, plants, life, humans and our modern-day civilization," Gates said on his blog. "These “threshold moments” all share common themes and patterns that are the foundation for the course. To understand the similarities, differences and implications of these thresholds, students have to use many different disciplines spanning cosmology, physics, chemistry, biology, anthropology and social studies."

Cook will do a classroom visit at Calhoun from 11:20 a.m. until noon, and then he will head to Mepham for a classroom visit from 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

What do you think of the district's schools being chosen for this program? Tell us in the comments below. 


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