From the beginning, experiential education has been an essential component of SEED. Every year during the exhibition, an entire room, the Seed Exploratorium, is dedicated to education about plant seeds, engaging all five senses to explore their many aspects.
Each year, the educational aspect of the exhibition is expanded thanks to grant support and generous individual donors. All educators involved have been impressed with the level of student interest as well as how well the new information “stuck” with student visitors to SEED.
Much of the education model being used in ‘SEED’ is derived in part from the Reggio Emilia approach to learning. Developed in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia after the destruction of World War II, this signature educational philosophy has been successfully adopted around the world and is recognized for it’s innovative approach to education. The Reggio Emilia philosophy is based upon the following set of principles:
· Children must have some control over the direction of their learning;
· Children must be able to learn through experiences of touching, moving, listening, seeing, and hearing;
· Children have a relationship with other children and with material items in the world that they are allowed to explore and
· Children must have endless ways and opportunities to express themselves.
The Reggio Emilia approach to teaching young children puts the natural development of children as well as the close relationships that they share with their environment at the center of its philosophy. Early childhood programs that have successfully adopted this educational philosophy share an attraction to Reggio because of the way it views and respects the child. Activities for children in the Art and Education Room at SEED 3 are inspired by this philosophy and designed to be developmentally appropriate.
Photos on this page by Geraint Smith
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