Las Positas Child Development Center

Three words sum up this play area: intriguing, rich and challenging. Yes, there’s some manufactured play equipment. But children are encouraged to climb on boulders and grassy mounds, explore the “dry creek bed” and its butterfly garden, build their own playhouses in the construction yard, and find inspiration for art and music in the yard’s garden settings.

Trees provide shade and shelter, screening from adjacent campus uses, seasonal variation, color, fragrance, and loose parts for play. Small intimate settings encourage positive interactions among staff and children. And large group settings help children develop self-esteem, social competence and intellectual growth.

The campus center also acts as a model facility, providing a rich setting for college students learning how to apply principles of child growth and development in real life. The school courtyard is now a gathering space for the entire school community.

MIG designed all the outdoor learning environments for this LEED® Silver accredited building project, which includes new classroom and administrative buildings for up to 122 children ranging from infants to preschool. The project exceeds National Association for the Education of Young Children goals for the ideal outdoor environment.