May 25, 2018

Early Start celebrates third birthday

Circus celebration to mark three years of operation. 

The University of Wollongong’s (UOW) Early Start will come alive with circus celebrations this week, with a special cake cutting ceremony, circus shows and a circus dropzone to celebrate three years of operation.

To help celebrate the milestone, Early Start Discovery Space has transformed its May activities to focus on the crazy and colourful world of the circus, including acrobatics, face painting, juggling, rope magic and moving like a clown.

Early Start is a unique initiative that brings together researchers, families, professionals who work with and care for children and the community with the guiding aim of helping all children realise their potential, especially those growing up in regional and remote Australia or living in vulnerable circumstances.

In the last 12 months alone, Early Start has played a role in , , continued to develop the Early years tool box and strengthened the case for greater regulation of food industry marketing to children. In 2017 Early Start produced more than 75 research publications.

Dozens of early childhood experts from around the world descended on Early Start last September for the 2017 Early Start Conference, highlighting the importance of Early Years research, policy and practice.

Early Start Chief Executive Officer Anita Kumar said the unique experiences offered through the Discovery Space complemented the suite of Early Years research taking place at Early Start.

“We provide a stimulating environment for children to learn through play to develop their skills around creativity, curiosity, collaboration and confidence,” she said.

“We know that authentic experiences stimulate meaningful learning and we are excited to continue to bring these experiences to the wider community.

“Each Discovery Space experience is shaped by evidence-based early childhood research to be educational, fun and interactive.”

Since Early Start first opened its doors in May 2015, more than 250,000 children, families and carers have explored the space, crawling through the giant inflatable intestine, searching for treasures in the archaeological dig, and hoisting the ropes on the HMAS Discovery.

Early Start has also built important links between UOW and the Illawarra community it serves, supporting families, early childhood educators, childcare centres, schools and volunteers to benefit from the educational and research-based resources of a university. In 2017 alone, 4,962 pre-school and primary school children participated in curriculum-based learning through school excursions.

ABOUT EARLY START

Early Start empowers children, families and communities. The Early Start Discovery Space allows for direct interaction and engagement with children and families to inspire imagination and ignite a love of learning.

A partnership with a network of engagement and early childhood centres enables Early Start to make an impact through service providers, focussed on the local environment and issues.

Research allows Early Start to understand the key challenges and develop community interventions based on evidence and finally teaching and learning programs allow us to develop leadership and a greater understanding of the importance of quality of programs to deliver a sustainable impact.