Hartford Preschool Learning Lab Picks Up STEAM

HARTFORD, CT — The Women’s League Child Development Center, a local leader in early childhood education, opened a unique STEAM Learning Lab for infants and toddlers last week in Hartford.

The Women’s League early education center in Greater Hartford has a licensed capacity to serve 230 infants and preschool children. It is located at 1695 Main St., Hartford.

Its young learners are primarily minorities who are nurtured and educated in a state-of-the-art building with 17 classrooms and credentialed teachers.

Most children live in Hartford and hail from working families earning lower incomes.

STEAM is an education acronym that means "science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics."

The new learning lab houses a mini greenhouse, a wind tunnel, a magnetic gear wall, building materials, a conveyor belt, laptop computers and a broad range of interactive learning materials designed for exploration and manipulation.

At a Jan. 19 ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by dignitaries, donors and children in little white lab coats, Women’s League Executive Director Karen Lott said “this STEAM Lab is a dream come true for us and the families we serve. Here, we are giving Hartford’s children, regardless of their families’ incomes, the same access and opportunity as their suburban counterparts for STEAM learning. We are nurturing the Black and Brown scientists, technology professionals, engineers and mathematicians of tomorrow.”

State officials agreed.

“This learning lab is an exciting opportunity to explore new ways to engage children in their early learning and development. The Women’s League has a long history of forging innovative pathways, grounded in equity, for our community’s youngest children,” said Beth Bye, the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood commissioner.

The STEAM Learning Lab will enable children enrolled at the center to engage in hands-on educational activities intentionally designed to develop their critical thinking skills, enhance their love for learning and open a path toward STEAM careers in STEAM.

The Women’s League was founded in 1917 by African American ministers’ wives to house and support single immigrant and migrant women striving to succeed in their new city without family or social ties.

According to the league, recent studies confirm the lack of diversity in STEAM fields, both in the professions and in the academic pipeline.

In the next decade, an estimated 75 percent of jobs in the fastest growing industries will require a background in science, according to the league.

Major financial support for lab came from the AT&T Foundation; Stanley Black & Decker; Jane Torrey; the Farmington Bank Community Foundation; Vantis Life Insurance Co.; Marcia B. Howard; the Vernon D. and Florence E. Foundation Memorial Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; Amy and Bob Stefanowski; Lisa Burgarella; CLA; Thomas C. Faniel; and Linda and Ted Ruby.

In addition, members of The Town & County Club in Hartford held a book drive culminating in the donation of more than 200 age-appropriate STEAM-focused children’s books.

The Epsilon Omicron Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, which had donated books to the children at the Women’s League for decades, made a significant donation of new children’s books.

Learn more about the Women's League's Child Development Center at www.womensleaguecdc.org.