Amazeum Brings Playful Learning to AECA and NAEYC 2025

This fall, the Scott Family Amazeum is taking playful learning on the road. Our team members will join educators from across the nation at two important conferences: the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Annual Conference and the Arkansas Early Childhood Association (AECA) Conference.

For families, this means that the team members you see leading programs and experiences at the Amazeum are learning alongside other experts in the field of early childhood education. These events allow us to bring back new ideas, fresh inspiration, and stronger practices that make every visit to the Amazeum an experience where play and learning go hand in hand.

AECA 2025: Reframing STEAM for Early Learners

From October 8–10, 2025, early childhood educators gathered in North Little Rock for the 63rd Annual AECA Conference. This year’s theme, Uniting Our Purpose: Passion Meets Practice, centered on coming together to support children and families in meaningful ways.

At AECA, Amazeum Early Learning Initiatives Manager Rachel Keene, along with Early Learning Coordinators Jennifer Steadman and Duke Wagner, led a workshop titled “Reframing STEAM for Early Learners.” In this session, the Amazeum team reimagined STEAM as something more than just a set of subjects to be taught. Science became a way of thinking and discovering, technology the tools we use to make things happen, engineering the process of building and problem-solving, art the act of creating and expressing, and math the practice of noticing patterns and measuring the world around us.

Through playful, hands-on activities, participants experienced how each of these elements can come alive for young children in ways that feel natural, joyful, and deeply connected to their everyday experiences.

NAEYC 2025: What Can Museums Do for You?

In November, Amazeum team members will travel to Orlando, Florida, for the NAEYC Annual Conference, the largest early childhood education gathering in the world. This year, Rachel Keene, Early Learning Initiatives Manager, will co-present with Christine Cawley, Early Childhood Director of Neosho, Missouri School District. Together, they will share how museums like the Amazeum can be powerful partners for schools and communities.

Their session, “What Can Museums Do for You?” highlights how playful, hands-on learning at the Amazeum has supported Neosho’s transitional kindergarten program. The same strategies such as tinkering, literacy through play, social-emotional learning, and curiosity-driven STEAM are what you see when your children explore exhibits, early learning programs, and pop-up activities here at the Amazeum.

For parents, the takeaway is clear: when your child plays at the Amazeum, they are not just having fun, they are developing essential skills like curiosity, problem-solving, creativity, and confidence. These playful experiences are the very ones that early childhood experts value most. Because parents are a child’s first and most important educators, your role in supporting and joining that play makes the learning even more powerful. When our team members learn and share at national conferences, they strengthen the experiences your family enjoys every time you visit.

Why It Matters for Families

AECA and NAEYC are more than professional conferences. They are ways for Amazeum staff to stay connected to the latest research, practices, and ideas in early learning. When we bring that knowledge back home, it shows up in the playful moments we create together, the exhibits your children explore and the programs we design.

For families in Northwest Arkansas, this means the Amazeum is not only a place to play, but also a place where learning is always intentional, supported by research, and fueled by the passion of educators who care deeply about your child’s growth.

At both conferences, our message is clear: Playful learning is powerful learning. When children are given space to wonder and explore, they are learning in ways that last a lifetime.

To Learn More:

AECA 2025: arkansasearlychildhood.org/conference
NAEYC 2025: naeyc.org/events/annual