Child’s Play

Children at Georgia Southern University’s Child Development Center (CDC) are smiling a bit brighter after celebrating the completion of a new backyard playground.

Director of the CDC, Candace Iavarone, says the approximately $211,000 project has been two years in the making, and couldn’t have been possible without support from Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jean Bartels; Barry Joyner, interim dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences; and Cynthia Johnson, chair of the School of Human Ecology. Facilities Services also worked closely with the Center on the design of the playground. From start to finish, the renovation took six weeks.

The new playground features enhanced fencing, innovative equipment geared toward helping the children meet developmental milestones, and one of the most significant differences—a variety of surfaces including synthetic and TuffTurf, along with some sand and concrete.

“We are all about being a high quality laboratory school of best practices,” said Iavarone. “We want to make sure that the outside environment is just as enticing as the inside environment.”

The age-appropriate equipment is not just for entertainment purposes, but also helps kids with physical, social, intellectual and motor development. “Now, the children are more enticed to go out and play. They’re able to climb and run and crawl through things. There’s even a playhouse,” said Iavarone.

“The kids have needed this for a long time,” said Joyner. “This was one thing we saw that we knew we could do better, and we were able to do it. I would like to recognize and thank Candace for her work and leadership in making this project happen.”

Sponsored by the College of Health and Human Sciences’ School of Human Ecology, the CDC serves children ages six weeks to 5-years-old and provides an enriching environment for young children and their parents, with a focus on the physical, cognitive, social, emotional and creative development of the child. The CDC also serves as a training program for students majoring in child development and provides rich opportunities for the observation of children and research.