Michigan State University is expanding its early childhood education programs with a new Child Development Laboratory in Lansing.
The university celebrated the opening of its third Child Development Lab Thursday, Nov. 12, at 2215 East Michigan Avenue.
The expansion was announced in the spring of 2025 and was funded with more than $4 million in state and federal appropriations.
The facility will provide educational and developmental programming for children from birth to age five, beginning this fall. More classrooms are scheduled to open in the coming months.
Once fully operational, the facility will have the ability to serve a little more than 100 children.
Ashley Aaron is the assistant director of the Lansing facility.
"We know that 90% of the brain is developed before the age of five, so we are really going to help build and support those little humans, help families, build connections with the community," she said.
The new location joins MSU's existing Child Development Laboratories in East Lansing and Haslett.
As previously reported, the university says its programs focus on early childhood development and provide opportunities for families to participate in their children's education. That's especially for underrepresented families and children.
The laboratories also allow MSU faculty and students to pursue research projects related to best practices in childcare and early education.
Program Director Laurie Linscott says the location was chosen because there aren't many childcare options in the area for families, and the MSU students who help staff the center become a part of the community they teach in.
"I really see them becoming a part of this as they come down here to do their work in the classrooms with children. When we look at our impact on the region in this area, really want to be a partner with the neighbors and the businesses," Linscott said. "We want to know what they want, and we want to be an integral part of the neighborhood."
She also hopes the facility can eventually lead young people in Lansing to more resources like the H.O.P.E. and Promise scholarship programs which provide credits or tuition support at nearby higher education institutions.
"One of my dreams when we started thinking about opening here is having children come here for preschool who live in the area, go through the program, go through the H.O.P.E. scholarship and the different opportunities, attend MSU and want to be a teacher and come back and be able to work with us here," she said.
MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz and Lansing Mayor Andy Schor attended Thursday's ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“It’s assets like the CDL in several locations that will help with talent recruitment and retention, and the community’s economic health. And that’s one of the things I’m most proud of," Guskiewicz said.
The Lansing expansion is being supported by community partners, including the city of Lansing and The Gillespie Company.
Sophia Saliby contributed to this report.
