Science Center Preschool

For 2024-2025 our preschool VPK is closed and the preschool is working through the waitlist to register for our Three Year Old classes. For information about the program or enrollment, call 407.514.2166 or email jreal@osc.org.

Current Hours of Operation: 7:30 am – 6:00 pm, Monday – Friday
2024-2025 Hours of Operation: 7:30 am – 5:30 pm, Monday – Friday

Features:


Brightwheel Digital Communication App

  • You will be able to direct message your Childs class
  • Reports, pictures and videos of your Childs experience are uploaded daily
  • Digital QR check in/out system and monthly newsletters are just a few of the many features

Early Childhood Appropriate Practices

  • Florida Early Learning Developmental Standards Birth to Kindergarten (2017)
  • National Association for the Education of Young Children(NAEYC) Standards

Qualified Early Childhood/Elementary Education Staff

  • Birth-Five Child Care Credential, National Early ChildhoodCredential, Degrees in Early Childhood/Elementary Education
  • Level 2 Background Screened
  • First Aid/CPR Infant/Child and Adult Certified
  • Experience working with children 0 – 8 years old

Age and Developmentally  Appropriate Curriculum

  • Orlando Science Center STEM curricula applying science,technology, engineering and math
  • Creative Curriculum, innovative and research based
  • Embedding Science, Math, Literacy, Language, Cognitive,Gross and Fine Motor, and skills into daily activities

Hands-on classroom and outdoor environment activities through Play and Exploration

  • STEM approaches and Engineering Design Process integrated in daily schedule
  • Using all 5 senses – See, Hear, Touch, Smell and Taste
  • Music and Movement, Physical Activity, Spanish and Sign Language

Licensed by the Department of Children and Families – Childcare Center ID:  C09OR0729

Voluntary PreKindergarten Provider (VPK) – Early Learning Coalition of Orange County ID: 4994

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)  – Accreditation ID: 728946

Open to any child and family regardless of race, ethnicity, faith or creed.

STEM Discovery Center Logo

Contact the Preschool Office at 407.514.2166 for more information or to arrange a tour of the Preschool.


OSC 2022-23 Preschool Brochure
A teacher guides a preschooler in a finger paint activity.
Orlando Weekly Best of Orlando 2023 Winner - Reader's Choice Best Preschool
NAEYC Accredited Early Learning Program

Orlando Science Center’s STEM Preschool has earned accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)—the world's largest organization working on behalf of young children. NAEYC accreditation is a rigorous and transformative quality-improvement system that uses a set of 10 research-based standards to collaborate with early education programs to recognize and drive quality-improvement in high-quality early learning environments.

To earn NAEYC Accreditation, Orlando Science Center’s STEM preschool went through an extensive self-study and quality-improvement process, followed by an on-site visit by NAEYC assessors to verify and ensure that the program met each of the ten program standards, and hundreds of corresponding individual criteria. NAEYC-accredited programs are always prepared for unannounced quality-assurance visits during their accreditation term, which lasts for five years.

In the 30 years since NAEYC Accreditation was established, it has become a widely recognized sign of high-quality early childhood education. More than 6,000 programs are currently accredited by NAEYC—less than 10 percent of all childcare centers, preschools, and kindergartens nationally achieve this recognition.

The Science Center Approach 

At Orlando Science Center’s Preschool, children benefit not only from a developmentally appropriate learning space which includes hands-on activities and skill building centers, but also the diverse and content-rich STEM experiences on-site. 

Our approach focuses on the whole child and incorporates project-based learning and the inquiry method. By using a project-based approach, children learn to apply subject matter to real world problems relevant to their age and community. 

The staff, trained in effective questioning techniques and the facilitation of thoughtful dialogue, guide children through scientific inquiry and the engineering design process. Children thereby gain proficiency in scientific thinking and engineering process skills through repeated exposure and repetition. 

Using a combination of Creative Curriculum blended with our own curricula provides STEM integration across all content domains. This blended curriculum format applies science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) practices to traditional early childhood domains such as literacy, language, social and emotional development, cognitive development, gross and fine motor skills, and the arts. By applying STEM learning in this way, learners gain an understanding of how to apply knowledge and use critical thinking skills to solve problems.

 

What is STEM? 

STEM education is an interdisciplinary approach to learning, combining multiple academic subjects, focusing on the real-world impact of these lessons. It is about students applying science, technology, engineering and mathematics in contexts that make relevant connections between themselves and their school, community, work and their world. STEM education provides opportunities to create skills that move students forward to become stronger problem solvers and more creative innovators that can lead tomorrow’s global economy. 

STEM learning creates an environment that builds critical 21st century skills, which are commonly referred as the four “C’s”: Critical thinking, Collaboration, Communication and Creativity. These skills must be fostered throughout a child’s education because they are essential to building other important skills such as persistence, innovative thinking, teamwork and problem solving.

2024 – 2025 Preschool Tuition

Three Years Old Program

Weekly Tuition

OSC Member

General Public

3-Day
9:00 am – 4:00 pm

$235 Weekly

$280 Weekly

5-Day Half-Day
9:00 am – 12:00 pm

$170 Weekly

$200 Weekly

5-Day
9:00 am – 4:00 pm

$300 Weekly

$340 Weekly

Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Program  

Weekly Tuition

OSC Member

General Public

VPK Only with Voucher
9:00 am – 12:00 pm

$0 Weekly*

$0 Weekly*

VPK WRAP
9:00 am – 4:00 pm

$245 Weekly

$275 Weekly

VPK Without Voucher
9:00 am – 4:00 pm

$325 Weekly

$355 Weekly

Annual Registration Fees: $275 non-refundable (does not apply to VPK Only).

All students must be independently fully toilet trained. Pricing is subject to change.

*Must have VPK Voucher from the Early Learning Coalition. Does NOT include Early and Late Care.

Morning Care: 7:30 am – 9:00 am, $40 Weekly
OR After Care: 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm, $40 Weekly

Both Morning & After Care: $70 Weekly

Signing up for this will take place two weeks prior to school starting and can be changed with a two weeks’ notice.