The Wonder Years exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota, created in collaboration with the University of Minnesota, has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Minnesota Association for the Education of Young Children (MnAEYC). Wonder Years is an 1,800 square foot exhibit that opened a year ago and contains the latest advances in early brain development research, including work by the Center for Early Education and Development (CEED), the Institute of Child Development (ICD), and Extension Children, Youth and Family Consortium (CYFC).

Thousands of museum visitors, researchers, policymakers, and caregivers of young children have benefited from the exhibit's displays, which provide an understanding of the importance of early childhood development.

"The goal of Wonder Years is to ensure that children ultimately benefit from the growing body of knowledge about the importance of early brain development," said Dr. Eric J. Jolly, president of the science museum. "We are honored to be the recipient of a Distinguished Service Award from the early childhood professional community. And we thank them for their important work, which focuses on the most critical time in a child's life."

The exhibit is funded by the National Science Foundation and is a collaboration among the museum, CEED, ICD, CYFC, and Public Agenda, a non-partisan civic engagement group.

The award was presented at MnAEYC's annual conference on Feb. 10. MnAEYC is a private, non-profit organization that serves on behalf of early care and education professionals in Minnesota by enhancing the quality of professional development opportunities, supporting program improvement and accreditation, and advocating for public policy change in early childhood education.