Dartmouth Health Children’s partners with SEE Science Center to promote education and discovery for young children and their families

Dartmouth Health Children’s has partnered with the SEE Science Center to present its new First Steps in Science initiative for children ages 2 to 6. First Steps in Science is a dynamic set of programs centered on developmentally appropriate hands-on engagement opportunities, designed to foster children’s natural curiosity about the world around them.

“As two nonprofit organizations dedicated to serving New Hampshire children and their families, a partnership between SEE Science Center and Dartmouth Health Children’s made perfect sense, especially to introduce this newest program geared toward our youngest visitors,” said Pete Gustafson, deputy director of SEE Science Center. “Through First Steps in Science, we aim to have even the youngest visitors actively engaged with their families in exploring our world.”

The SEE Science Center currently serves more than 8,000 children from infancy to age 6 annually. While SEE serves a small percentage of these children through outreach, over 85 percent of these children are visiting with one or more adult caretakers. Prior to 2020, SEE had not provided services specifically for this audience. SEE currently serves this audience through preschool programming, demonstrations, exhibits and story time sessions as part of First Steps in Science. This initiative also seeks to demystify science learning for parents and caregivers, helping them to better support early STEM opportunities for their children at the Science Center and at home.

With family-centered care at the core of its services, Dartmouth Health Children’s is excited to partner with a community organization that not only introduces children to the wonders of science, but also supports families exploring and learning, together.

To learn more about First Steps in Science, presented by Dartmouth Health Children’s, visit https://see-sciencecenter.org/early-learners/.