Workers and students with UK's Early Childhood Lab have lobbied for a new home for the facility for decades.
Now, the university has broken ground on a building that will increase the capacity of the infant-to-preschool education program.
The Early Childhood Lab, or ECL, is currently housed in the basement of UK’s Erickson Hall.
Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at UK’s College of Health Sciences Randa Remer has been part of the ECL since attending as a child. She told an audience at the groundbreaking Thursday it’s nice to see the program move into more spacious quarters.
"This new facility will allow the ECL to double in size, providing daycare services and expanded training for future early childhood teachers for all of Kentucky. After three decades of searching for a new facility, I congratulate the Early Childhood Lab on finally having a new home," she said.
The new 10,000 square-foot location will support more than 100 kids – and aid the nearly thousand students who gain observation hours and clinical experience at the lab.
The ECL is also set to partner with the non-profit Visually Impaired Preschool Services, which will share space in the building.