Kid Curator - A Model for Linking Children, Parents, Educators and Community Outdoor Park Areas to Enhance Preschool Child Development

Year Awarded: 1999
Project Leaders:
Norman Lownds, MSU Department of Horticulture; Alice Whiren, MSU Department of Family and Child Ecology; John Grix, MSU Extension CYF 4-H Youth Development. Community Partners include: Kettunen Center, and MSU Child Development Laboratories

Project Description:
This project uses MSU's nationally recognized 4-H Children's Garden to give young children a hands-on exploration of nature and plant science and to develop a model for linking children, parents, educators and community park areas. The goal is to create a generation of kid curators-kids who respect and take care of each other and the environment. The research is helping communities use existing outdoor park areas as a rich learning environment for preschoolers

Recent Developments: (Article from Forum, November-December 2002)

Kid Curator Program Grows with New Grants
The Kid Curator program at the Michigan 4-H Children's Garden is expanding its research and outreach efforts with the help of $873,295 in recently awarded grants.

This pioneer approach to teaching hands-on science and developing environmental stewardship is attracting national and international attention, including a $429,000 grant from the Dow Foundation in 2001 which will be used to explore connections between gardens, classrooms and 4-H clubs.

Supported with seed funding from FACT in 1999, Kid Curator was originally research-based, hands-on programming that encouraged pre-schoolers to think scientifically and ecologically through participation in learning activities at the 4-H Children's Garden. Now, thanks to expanded funding and community support, Kid Curator will incorporate new initiatives that advance and further the original mission-to develop scientific curiosity and environmental stewardship in young children.

"Based on my own observations and reports from teachers, we see a change in student attitudes," said Norman Lownds, associate professor in MSU's Department of Horticulture and curator of the 4-H Children's Garden, "They are much more willing to ask questions. They realize it is OK not to know the answers to your science questions and they are more curious and wonder about lots of things."

Among the new additions to Kid Curator are immersion field trips that bring students to the gardens for three days to complete a variety of hands on learning experiences. They are the first trip of this kind in the nation to take place in a garden setting. The trips have had an impact on over 300 kids in 13 classes this year.

"Teachers are so satisfied with the immersion that they are signing up to come again next year," said Lownds. "Parents have told us it was the best trip their kids have ever been a part of. Kids love it and don't want to leave the garden at the end of the day."

Meanwhile, there is a new partnership program with Head Start teachers. It is called "Head Start on Science," and has already trained 35 instructors on how to incorporate scientific inquiry into their daily lessons. Over half of these instructors, and over 500 of their pupils have returned to the gardens throughout the year.

All these programs allow Lownds and his associates to develop better methods of pre-school science and conservation education. They've already developed a companion web site and CD-ROMs to encourage kids to keep asking questions once they are back in the classroom.

Their work has become a model for other programs in the US, United Kingdom, and Canada. With consistently high approval ratings in mid-Michigan, it looks like Kid Curator has its roots firmly planted here as its reach spreads across the globe.

"We have just scratched the surface of what's possible," said Lownds, "We have also shown once again, that 'in a child's garden imagination grows.'"

Resources and Links:
For further information about Kid Curator, visit http://4hgarden.msu.edu/main.html.