CFWT Grant Story: Don Harrington Discovery Center 'Literacy Corner'

The Don Harrington Discovery Center installed flooring under its new Literacy Corner with a grant from the Parkhill Building Community Fund through the Community Foundation of West Texas. The organization wrote: "The new flooring and the Literacy Corner exhibit provides a warm and inviting feeling for families to sit and read. Literacy skills are important for every aspect of education, thus making this exhibit a critical support to our work educating students and families across the High Plains." The exhibit was opened to the public in December of 2022 and designed to improve listening, speaking, discussion, observational, and reading skills for early learners. The DHDC wrote, "It gives them the opportunity to become more engaged in their own learning by interacting with books and other educational resources that are most interesting to them, at their own pace, and free from the pressures of school."

"DHDC’s Literacy Corner supports literacy skills in a multi-generational environment. It provides a quiet and calm space for children and their families to decompress from their excitement, relax, and read together," the DHDC reported. The Literacy Corner features shelves stocked with books for all ages, comfortable seating, warm lighting, and a loft for children to hide away while they read. The space was created to reach many different types and styles of learning, including visual, auditory, and verbal. Since opening, more than 18,000 visitors have had the chance to experience the Literacy Corner, and the DHDC said the reviews have been "outstanding!"