Early Childhood Science Experiences

Young children are biologically equipped to actively explore and learn about their world. From infancy onward, evolving brain structures enable sensory attention and trigger curiosity about their environment. Curiosity events recruit neurochemicals that prompt emotional responses and promote memory—the deepest roots of learning. Each new learning experience changes and enlarges neural pathways in the brain to allow for more learning. When intriguing, developmentally appropriate experiences are provided to help young children enjoy investigating their world, and guidance is offered to make conceptual meaning of their discoveries, the curiosity-motivated capacity for further learning is nourished. Supporting this intrinsic reaching out for knowledge is the purpose for early childhood science experiences. This entry traces the rise of interest in early childhood science experiences as pedagogy, and reports ...