Nature education is a form of pedagogy that is currently gaining speed, especially given the lack of outdoor stimuli that children experience on a daily basis, as well as rising environmental concerns. Nature education involves the integration of nature into a child’s learning. It maximizes time outdoors and immerses students in natural materials indoors. Through exploration and play in these interior and exterior spaces, children are encouraged to connect with the natural world.
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To align with this approach, educational architecture must also adapt to optimize students’ learning. One such example is Wonderforest, a nature-focused preschool in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, New York. Designed by Palette Architecture, the facility provides a variety of indoor spaces to support the nature-based learning program provided by the school. Children ages two to four years old are immersed in biophilic play spaces. These are designed to be safe while allowing for explorative learning.
Related: Nature is the teacher at this language school in China
The Three Play Spaces
The preschool features three main spaces that are connected through a meandering path, inspired by the movement of a river. These are: The Forest, The Greenhouse and The Wetlands. Each space features biophilic design to adopt the color palette and textures of each specific environment. The three exploratory spaces are also designed to maximize interactive experiences with natural elements, such as water and soil, without having to leave the indoors.
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The Forest
This is the first space that children enter as they follow the winding path from beyond the welcome area and classrooms. It uses recycled materials and sustainably-harvested timber for an eco-friendly and tactile design. The Forest features an open play area with a backdrop of a rolling hillside made from artificial grass. This is flanked by abstracted tree forms and a swing set. The changes in topography and forms spark curiosity and encourage exploration and adventure.
The Greenhouse
The Greenhouse is a narrow space with tall windows and thick layers of vegetation. By incorporating plants into this space, the preschoolers begin to engage with their care and growth. The variety of plant species also introduces the children to how plants can support human life through their various properties, be it medicinal, aesthetic or for sustenance.
The Wetland
The most interactive and exploratory space is The Wetland. This is a wet zone where children can be fully immersed in tactile play to understand concepts such as buoyancy and dynamics. To enhance the fun, the space features a child-sized water table and mud kitchen, allowing children to splash and get messy!
Encouraging Nature Exploration
Through biophilic design, Palette Architecture creates spaces that allow the preschoolers to better understand the natural world. To spark curiosity and creativity, the designers layered the play and classroom spaces to allow staff to watch over the children without interfering in their private exploration time. This gives them the autonomy and freedom to learn through exploration and immersion. By creating open-ended experiences for free play, the children are empowered to connect to natural settings within the safety of the built environment.
Images via Pavel Bendov and James Clark
