A team of Auburn University faculty members, working alongside their students, is helping shape the next generation of exhibits at EarlyWorks Children’s Museum as the Huntsville institution begins a full reconceptualization of its interactive spaces.
The interdisciplinary collaboration centers on a simple but foundational idea: children learn through play.
“At a time when the world urgently needs critical thinkers, creative problem-solvers and innovative leaders, the answer may lie in play,” said Jennifer Pindyck, associate professor and chair of Auburn’s interior architecture program and associate chair of the architecture program in the College of Architecture, Design and Construction.
Pindyck is working with colleagues Silvia Vilches, an associate professor in the College of Human Sciences who leads early childhood and parenting programs for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, and Amy Serafini, education leadership program coordinator and associate professor in the College of Education.
The three faculty members have collaborated for years on research and projects related to play-based learning. When EarlyWorks CEO Beth Goodwin, an Auburn alumna, reached out for ideas to guide the museum’s future direction, the group saw an opportunity to apply that work in a community setting.
“This opportunity with EarlyWorks felt like a natural extension of our work, and the museum has been incredibly enthusiastic and supportive,” Pindyck said. “We envision this as a multi-year collaboration with a range of studies, outcomes and community engagement.”
EarlyWorks has already completed updates to the museum’s exterior and is now beginning a phased redesign of its exhibits, replacing them one at a time. Goodwin said the goal is to transform the museum into what she describes as “a play-inspired and play-driven immersive STEAM environment where children of all ages and abilities can envision an exciting future full of possibilities.”
Students involved in the project have developed detailed concepts and designs that could eventually be implemented inside the museum. Goodwin said she is eager to see those ideas move from the classroom to the exhibit floor.
“It truly makes my heart happy to watch the students create these amazing exhibits,” Goodwin said. “EarlyWorks will be better because of the work done by these students and their professors. Each child that experiences the reimagined museum will be better served through this partnership.”
Goodwin, who graduated from Auburn University in 1994 with a degree in communications, said the collaboration reflects both a shared educational mission and a long-term investment in the region’s children.
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