University of Washington Tacoma, Children’s Museum announce early learning center downtown

The University of Washington Tacoma and the Children’s Museum of Tacoma will open an early learning center next year that will serve the children of students, faculty and staff of the urban campus.

The center, called The Muse, will be unique to the UW system and to Tacoma: a center for children based on the Reggio Emilia approach to preschool learning. That educational philosophy began after World War II in the villages of Reggio Emilia, Italy, and it emphasizes independent learning and a child-centered community.

“We hope that over time, we can raise the level of childcare in this community,” said Tanya Andrews, executive director of the Children’s Museum, as she announced the center Thursday during the museum’s annual fundraising lunch.

A child-care center has been at the top of the priority list for UWT students for years, said Harlan Patterson, UWT’s vice chancellor for finance and administration. The other top priority, a student fitness center, was fulfilled earlier this year when the school and YMCA opened a location on Market Street next to campus.

To meet the campus’ need for child care, the school connected with a community organization with expertise — much like the effort between the school and the YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties.

“We needed a partner,” Patterson said. “It’s not our primary mission — to be a center for early learners.”

The Children’s Museum was a natural, he said. “This was perfect for us. We can meet a need of the students. It’s high-quality, close and convenient.”

Andrews said the partnership, three years in the making, allows the museum to further advance its mission of letting children learn through play. The idea for the center began with a conversation between Andrews and then-chancellor of the UWT, Debra Friedman, who died in early 2014.

The center will enroll approximately 70 children from ages 18 months to 5. It will be in the daylight basement of the museum’s current location at 1501 Pacific Ave. The 7,000-square-foot space is under renovation. Ten of the spots will belong to the museum. The rest will be limited initially to the children of UWT’s students, faculty and staff. If any remain, they will open to the general public.

The cost of enrollment will be between $800 and $1,000 a month, in line with current market rates, Andrews said.

The $750,000 start-up cost is being raised from private funds. The money will cover the renovation and some start-up operating costs, Andrews said, with the center becoming self-sustaining after it opens in February 2016.

“It’s the Children’s Museum’s intention to turn (the center) into a training academy,” Andrews said. The museum would work with other day care providers to adjust their approach to young children and their thinking about the role of preschool.

Children “learn best from their play,” Andrews said. The community should be asking itself: “Can we focus on their social emotional development and play before they make that transition to formal school setting?”

This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 5:30 AM with the headline "University of Washington Tacoma, Children’s Museum announce early learning center downtown."