College Child Center Plans Discovery Day

Visitors to Moorpark College’s Child Development Center on April 18 will be able to pretend they are mining for gold in the sandbox, digging for fossils in the ice and blasting off in pretend spaceships.

The Discovery Day event is a semiannual fund-raiser for the college’s 28-year-old center, which cares for the children of students who attend the campus.

The center’s staff will provide educational activities that parents and students can participate in.

The Sunshine Band, which plays children’s tunes, will hold a one-hour performance starting at 10 a.m. And students from the college’s Exotic Animal Training and Management program will bring a few of their animals to the center from 12:30 to 2 p.m.

“We’re always hoping for a large turnout,” said Linda Cravens, program director. “We’ve been lucky and have had wonderful turnouts the last few years.”

Money raised will go for the purchase of additional instructional materials and lofts for the center’s two new classrooms, expected to be completed this fall. The admission price, $4 per child and $2 per adult, would also go toward buying playground equipment.

The center serves children 2 years, 9 months to 5 years old. It also helps child-development majors hoping to become teachers gain experience.

The event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the center, 7075 Campus Road. For information, call 378-1401.