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Kids
gets new digs
Where there once were horses now is horseplay. Ohio University’s
Child Development Center, located in Putnam Hall for nearly three
decades, has moved to a new location in a renovated horse barn on
The Ridges.
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Rick
Fatica
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| Children
take a peek at the playground of the new Child Development Center. |
Rustic stables
have been transformed into nine modern classrooms, an art studio,
a multipurpose room and playgrounds. An expansion has provided room
for a reception area, meeting room, staff offices, library, cubbyholes
and other features.
The $2.6 million project, completed earlier this year, boosts the
center’s space from 8,800 to 13,800 square feet.
“The Ridges offers a very natural setting with limited traffic,
so the children can go on hikes and go sledding,” says Center
Director Cathy Waller. “It also has a very appealing look with
lots of natural light.”
The center offers day care for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years,
and by fall, enrollment should increase from about 60 children to
nearly 120. The new location and expanded enrollment will allow
more opportunities for education majors to get hands-on training
at the center. This year, about 800 students in early childhood
education, physical therapy, music therapy and music education received
field experience at the facility.
The barn, built in the 1870s, housed workhorses used for farm chores
by staff at the former Athens Mental Health Center. Efforts were
made to maintain the architectural integrity of the building, including
the use of arched windows and neutral interior colors.
— Jack Jeffery
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