Construction to Begin on UW Early Care and Education Center

June 25, 2004 -- Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new University of Wyoming Early Care and Education Center will take place July 6 at 4 p.m. at the building site on 30th and Lodgepole streets in Laramie.

A reception will follow at the Alumni House on campus.

A joint effort involving the College of Agriculture and the College of Education, the $2 million, 9,220-square-foot training and research laboratory will consolidate the current University Child Care Center, Child Development Center, School-Age Care Program and College of Education Pre-K program and also allow for the addition of infant and toddler care.

Special features will include a multi-purpose area for gross motor activities, parent meetings, and multi-age programs; a breastfeeding support room; an on-site nursing station with temporary sick-child facilities; a science/solar room to encourage children's understanding of nature and how to grow plants; an observation room with computers and video capabilities to better serve college students' training needs; and a full kitchen with child-sized space to encourage cooking and nutrition-awareness activities.

Current plans call for the center, which will serve 90-100 children, to be occupied in the summer of 2005.

"Bringing everything together into one place will allow for better training for our academic programs and will be easier on parents if they have children in different age groups at the center," says Associate Professor Karen Williams, head of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences and a key player in the planning of the new facility.

She describes the new center as academic based and says the level of interdisciplinary involvement it will afford will be a "model" for the nation.

"We will be serving student college programs in nursing, kinesiology and health, development psychology, and communications disorders. The counselor education program is also interested in participating," Williams notes.

Co-directing the new facility will be Mark Bittner, current coordinator of the University Child Care Center and the Child Development Center, and Cleta Booth, a pre-K teacher and apprenticeship supervisor with the UW Lab School.

"It will be a nice blending of the two colleges that already deliver the interdisciplinary early childhood program. The new center will allow us to work jointly on curriculum development," says Williams.

While the College of Agriculture will be fiscally responsibility for the center, the College of Education is actively involved in fundraising for equipment for the new laboratory.


Dignitaries at the groundbreaking ceremony will include UW President Philip Dubois, College of Agriculture Dean Frank Galey, College of Education Dean Patricia McClurg, the UW Board of Trustees, representatives of the Associated Students of the University of Wyoming, faculty members, Facilities Planning employees and participants in an Early Childhood Institute beginning on campus July 7.

"There are a lot of people who are strong supporters of early childhood education who helped make this possible," Williams says.

The 30th Street site was chosen because it provides room for future expansion and offers close proximity to student housing and the university bus system.

TSP, an architectural firm based in Denver, designed the new center with help from the colleges and departments involved. The UW trustees awarded the construction contract to Spiegelberg Lumber and Building Company of Laramie.

In line with the "project approach" used as a curriculum model for the current early care programs, Williams says the children served will follow the building process from beginning to end, visiting the site often and making their own drawings and models. They will also help with the moving process.

"This will provide endless opportunities for really important learning," the department head says.

In addition to providing "best practices" for the children, Williams says the new Early Care and Education Center will benefit college students doing observations, practicums and internships.

"We are very lucky that we have people at UW who understand the importance of an academic, interdisciplinary approach and who advocate for it."

PHOTO CAPTION: The new UW Early Care and Education Center is scheduled to open in a year.

Posted on Monday, June 28, 2004