Research with the College

Bowdoin students who need to or are interested in doing a one-time observation or project and would like access to our program can discuss this with the assistant director on a project-by-project basis. Scheduling observations, interviews, research projects, etc. must revolve around the children's schedule; however, we do our best to accommodate all Bowdoin students interested in engaging in a learning opportunity at the Center.

The Children's Center currently collaborates with professors in the Education, Psychology, and English departments to enhance their students' experiences within a course. We are open to working with all professors and departments on campus.

Bowdoin College and the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance (MMSA) have received grant to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning for pre-k and kindergarten students and teachers. This funding was awarded through the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Children's Center has been chosen as one of the sites for the researches to collect data from in their project titiled "Bridging Preschool and Kindergarten Science: Exploring Play-Based Engagement with Scientific and Engineering Practices in Early Learning Environments". Learn more here.

The Children’s Center also collaborates with SMCC, CMCC, and UMF to offer practicum student opportunities. These students are in early childhood programs and work closely with a classroom educator and the associate director to learn about our Center and complete their course work.

We can not accommodate volunteer students at this time due to the limitation of space in our classrooms and the nature of our program.