About Us| Early Science Initiative | Psychology | University of Miami

We are a team of developmental psychologists and educators dedicated to supporting children and families through high-quality early education. Research has confirmed that high-quality early care and education has tremendous positive impacts on the lives of children, especially those from under-resourced communities.

With over twenty years of research in early childhood, we have identified science as a promising lever to enhance the quality of care and education for young children, thereby enhancing learning for all and narrowing the achievement gap between children from low-income families and their higher-income peers.

In 2015, the Buffett Early Childhood Fund and additional funders, gave us the support we needed to put research to practice and develop the Early Science Initiative. We started by partnering with the Educare Learning Network and implementing our program within 13 of their early learning centers across the country.

We are currently expanding our reach and spreading the love for science! 

Enhance the care and education of young children through science.

By helping adults see and support young children as scientists, we can maximize learning during this critical period of human development.

Our vision is to establish a network of ESI schools, families, and community spaces that work together to support and celebrate learning in early childhood through playful, collaborative science experiences.

Through this network we can:

Promote inclusion and equity by surfacing the science that is unique to cultures and contexts
Strive towards continuous quality improvement, to create a culture of inquiry 
Unite learning across homes, schools, and community spaces so that children develop a cohesive and comprehensive world-view
Develop young children as 21st century thinkers…to be the innovators and leaders for tomorrow.

Join Us!

We are always actively pursuing new ideas and outlets to continue our ongoing effort to reimagine science in early learning.

We have already grown so much but are eager to...

Expand into additional early learning centers
Leverage technology to connect with and support families
Create stronger connections between science and literacy
Partner with community spaces (e.g., libraries, zoos, parks)

Do you have some exciting ideas in ways we can connect and collaborate with you? Click on the Contact Us button below to share your ideas for unleashing the power of science in early childhood.