Where We are Going

Early Learning Village: A Project of the Louisiana Children’s Museum

Early Learning Village

Transforming Early Childhood Development…

The Louisiana Children’s Museum is leading a partnership of local and national experts, advocates and funders to develop a transformational model of innovation and collaboration that will deliver rich, playful learning experiences for young children, integrated resources for families and teachers, and international best practices in research and development. Situated on 12 acres in New Orleans’ historical City Park, the 90,000 square-foot Early Learning Village campus will house the Museum, a nature center, literacy center, parent and teacher resource center, childcare center, performing arts center and café. Edible gardens, multi-purpose outdoor spaces, and discovery walks spanning acres of ecosystems that will ensure joyous connections to themes of land and water.

For Young Children and Their Families…

Neuroscience evidence shows that 95% of brain development occurs before the age of 3, when the capacity for lifelong learning and the framework for critical thinking and problem solving is created. For 20 years, Louisiana has ranked 49th nationally in child well-being. New Orleans is leading the education reform, but early childhood education has not been holistically addressed. The Louisiana Children’s Museum developed the Early Learning Village collaborative to create a premiere early childhood education resource for Louisiana and to transform national decision-making and developmental practices impacting young children and their families. The pairing of a children’s museum with nationally recognized early childhood development programs and services is internationally unprecedented.

And for the Environment

The Early Learning Village in New Orleans City Park is unique, and will be a global leader by bringing together early childhood resources, a children’s museum, environmental learning and landscapes, all within one highly sustainable environment. As designers, we work on projects all over the world that involve children, museums, environmental learning, and community places and consider it a tremendous honor to be a part of such a transformational project.

Richard Franco, AIA
Architect and Partner, Mithun

The Early Learning Village is committed to modeling sustainability and environmental stewardship practices because research shows that connecting children to nature is one of the most powerful tools for establishing healthy human development. Design goals for the innovative 3-building facility are LEED Platinum certified and Net Zero; the site is a national Sustainable Sites pilot. The Early Learning Village is poised to become a nationally known destination, both for its sustainable design and its national best practices in early childhood research and education.

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