Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture faculty member Sarah Little and her landscape architecture students joined with JRCoE early childhood education students in Becca Waggoner’s class on a six-week project to propose a nature-based outdoor learning environment for the Institute of Child Development. Little, Waggoner and their students designed beautiful and developmentally appropriate outdoor spaces for young children’s whole development and well-being.
This fall, the ICD will be moving into a permanent space that will allow for a much larger natural outdoor classroom environment that incorporates child development, reflects best practices and mirrors current early childhood theory and research in education. The new indoor spaces will include an observation booth for families and for research. There will also be space to teach early childhood education courses, allowing for many more possibilities than the current facility.
The ICD has always had a nature-based playground, as it aligns with their vision to provide a space where children can explore and interact with the natural environment. The landscape architecture and College of Education students have collaborated to provide a new and improved nature-based playground for the new ICD facility.
Students made their final presentations on Feb. 28. For more information about the project, visit https://gibbs.oucreate.com/landscape-architecture/icd-collaboration/
