Contact:
Jonathan Potts
412-268-6094

For immediate release:
April 13, 2005

Children at Carnegie Mellon Preschools Feel the Music With Exhibition To Celebrate Week of the Young Child

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University's two early childhood programs, the Children's School and the Cyert Center for Early Education, are teaming up to celebrate the Week of the Young Child in Pittsburgh with "Young Children's Music Exploration and Expression," an exhibit of children's learning at the University Center Gallery.

Opening Monday, April 18, and running through Friday, April 22, the exhibit will share the ways the children have explored sound, instruments and diverse styles of music in order to develop an appreciation for music and use it as a language of expression. The displays will focus on how young children understand vibrations and hearing, how they experience and create instruments, how they respond to music via movement and art, and how they create their own music. The gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the exhibit is free and open to the public.

The Week of the Young Child, April 17-23, has been celebrated since 1971 as a way to focus public attention on the needs of young children and to recognize quality early childhood programs. It is sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and locally by the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children. This year's theme is "Science: World of Wonder."

"Young children can be doing more with science. They don't already have a fear and stereotype about science," said Sharon Carver, director of the Children's School at Carnegie Mellon. "We can capitalize on the natural interest and curiosity of children to build a foundation for later learning."

For more information about Week of the Young Child events around Pittsburgh, contact Cyndi McAleer at 412-331-7656.

The Children's School was founded 36 years ago and is part of the Department of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon. About 98 children in preschool and kindergarten attend the school, which also serves as a research lab for psychology students studying early childhood cognitive development. The school uses a developmental approach with specific learning goals for children in six categories: self-esteem and independence, interaction and cooperation, communication, discovery and exploration, physical capabilities, and artistic expression and appreciation.

About 130 children are enrolled at the Cyert Center, which provides full-day, year-round education for children ages 3 months through kindergarten. The Cyert Center is inspired by the acclaimed Reggio Emilio philosophy, which is named for the Italian city where it was developed. It is a project-based, arts-infused approach to early childhood education.