Special Space for Early Learners
Pampers Sponsors Studio Grow Designed for Children Six and Younger
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (June 12, 2019) — A new space in The Scott Family Amazeum for early learners six and younger opens June 19. Sponsored by Pampers, Studio Grow houses experiences designed specifically for young learners, caregivers and families.
Studio Grow is designed to support caregivers and children as they actively grow, develop and move through stages of physical, social and cognitive development. Designed to be flexible and meet the diverse needs of young children and their families, Studio Grow is a place where kids playfully explore science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) through open-ended, child-driven investigations. Studio Grow will also be home to expanded Early Learner Programming at the Amazeum.
“Early childhood is when children lay the foundation for life-long curiosity, creativity and innovative thinking,” says Mindy Porter, Amazeum director of education. “Studio Grow provides experiences that cultivate those skills in children and equip adults to support child development. This space gives us an opportunity to expand and enhance our programming for specific age groups each week. Studio Grow also serves as a space to connect a community of caregivers and educators to learn and grow together. Families with children younger than six can play together and stay together in Studio Grow.”
“The Pampers brand is dedicated to every baby’s happy, healthy development. We’re thrilled to be able to take this promise a step further, in partnership with the Scott Family Amazeum, to bring world-class early childhood STEAM activities to our community,” says Jess Scheerhorn, Pampers Brand Manager.
“We are excited to be working with Pampers to provide this opportunity to the community for the next two years,” says Shannon Butler Dixon, Amazeum director of development and communications. “We appreciate their support of our mission to provide high-quality, interactive learning experiences to children and families in Northwest Arkansas and beyond. Studio Grow gives us the opportunity to experiment and explore new options for engaging a diverse population in playful learning opportunities.”
When in exploration mode, experiences in Studio Grow allow for hands-on, interactive discovery that build fine- and gross-motor skills and cognitive and social awareness through unique activities. Specially designed pop-up activities, geared toward early learners, enhance the experience during free-range exploration. The space will also serve as an area to prototype new learning experiences aligned with the developmental needs of children ages six and younger.
Specific Early Learner Programs find a home in Studio Grow beginning in August. Special hours for Cuddlers, Crawlers, and Toddlers, ages 3 and younger offer developmentally appropriate activities facilitated by Amazeum Early Learner Education Team. These programs are included in admission or membership and no registration is required.
Explorers, a program for children ages six and younger, focuses on hands-on exploration of STEAM activities facilitated by Early Learner Education Team. Explorers expands on the Amazeum’s popular STEAM Studio where learners ages six and under and their caregivers explore science, technology, engineering, art and math through developmentally appropriate activities each week.
Studio Grow addresses the need for accessible, diverse, high-quality early learning experiences for the region’s growing population of children ages 6 and younger. In Benton and Washington counties the population of children younger than 3 is projected to grow 4.5%, and the population of children between 3 and 5 years old is projected to grow 3.4% until 2020. Currently, 10% of the region’s population is six and younger.
A portion of the museum’s Traveling Exhibit Gallery is being repurposed to provide space for Studio Grow. The space is designed to be reconfigurable with moveable experiences to accommodate facilitated programming, self-guided exploration and prototyping of experiences designed and built at the Amazeum. Studio Grow will be open during regular museum operating hours. Additional information on educational programs in Studio Grow will be available at amazeum.org/programs in the coming weeks.
