Raising Healthier Generations from Day One
Calgary Public Library is pushing the boundaries of traditional library spaces for children age 0-5 with an innovative approach to Early Learning Centre design.
There are currently ten Early Learning Centres in Calgary including the first nature playground at Forest Lawn Library. Each location is built around a distinct concept with special features to inspire child-led activities. Programs are designed using current research and best practices in child development to support children and families, creating positive experiences where growth and healthy development can occur. These spaces are dynamic environments for learning, collaboration, and social connection.
With a goal of establishing an Early Learning Centre at every Library location, the Calgary Public Library called upon Vivo’s Innovation Superpowers of Measurement & Evaluation and Multi-Sector Collaboration to determine how the changes they had made to ELC spaces and programming affected Library visitors. They also wanted to identify whether the needs of families are being met through their visits.
Vivo enlisted the help of our very smart friends at Mount Royal University to develop a measurement system to evaluate the ELC design and use in order to identify what needs are being met and where creative improvement can be applied. Through this study 4 key learnings emerged:
The full report on Early Learning Centres can be viewed here.