Cockeysville, MD -- Introducing Curiosityville (www.curiosityville.com), a powerful on and offline personalized play and learning world to be explored by children 3-8 and their parents.  The new village incorporates fun, playful learning activities, lovable and engaging characters and their stories, and innovative technology that enables parents to guide and track their child’s progress in real-time. It is designed to help mom, dad and caregivers become a child’s first teacher and kids become great learners. Created in collaboration with educators, parents, researchers and child development experts, Curiosityville offers young children and their families a first of its kind playful learning world and resource. The announcement was made today by Curiosityville Founder and CEO Susan Magsamen.

Simultaneous to the launch of curiosityville.com, the company has joined with several prestigious strategic partners, including National Geographic Kids (www.nationalgeographic.com/kids, as well as The Goddard School for Early Childhood Development (www.goddardschool.com) and The Association of Children’s Museums (www.childrensmuseums.org).  Curiosityville compliments the strengths of its partners, all of whom align with its mission and vision, to help meet children in different areas of their lives and reinforce early learning.

In Curiosityville, children engage with an international cast of six lovable animated characters, including Pablo the painter, Ruby the teacher, Joe the gadget guy (and Curiosityville’s mayor), Rosie the scientist, Jack the policeman and Olive the dancing chef.  Together, they guide children through an ever-expanding mix of interactive, playful learning experiences that encourage kids to explore, think creatively and problem-solve.  In addition to reading, math, science, social studies and other core skills, Curiosityville incorporates evidence-based standards linked to effective learning and life-long achievement – executive-function, social and emotional development and 21st century skills.

Curiosityville combines a range of evidence-based approaches into a comprehensive and thoughtful child-focused learning laboratory.  Incorporating the latest research on how children learn, the activities within Curiosityville have been designed in consultation with parents, children and an interdisciplinary team of world-class childhood development experts. Curiosityville’s proprietary digital learning platform aligns with, and goes beyond, the Common Core State Standards, the Framework for 21st-Century Learning developed by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and the developmentally appropriate practices established by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

“Curiosityville is a compelling response to one of the most important issues of our time – how to successfully help young children reach their fullest potential. Research has demonstrated conclusively that starting at an early age is fundamental to improving a child’s educational readiness, optimizing success in school and enhancing lifelong learning outcomes,” says Magsamen.  “So, every aspect of Curiosityville—from the activity and game development to the sounds, visual design, animation, and engaging archetypal characters—is built for optimal early child development.  We know that when you invite and excite young children to learn through playful exploration and discovery, they build a strong cognitive foundation to think, create, imagine and communicate that lasts a lifetime.“

Curiosityville will provide National Geographic Kids with engaging content for kids and parents to support the already robust National Geographic Little Kids offerings.  Curiosityville will also bring the quality resources from National Geographic Kids within Curiosityville’s website.