Chicago Public Schools on Thursday highlighted 25 "curiosity classrooms" that give pre‑K through second‑grade students hands‑on opportunities in science, technology, engineering, arts and math.

Chiefs from the Office of Early Childhood and the Office of Teaching and Learning framed the classrooms as an equity investment aimed at communities that have experienced historic disinvestment. "Our curiosity classrooms provide a welcoming, flexible space where students have the opportunity to wonder, to observe, to question," Leslie McKinley, chief of early childhood education, said during the board's honoring‑excellence segment.

The district credited a public‑private partnership with the Chicago Children’s Museum and philanthropic support from Crown Family Philanthropies, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation and the CME Group Foundation. "Curiosity classrooms were born out of the museum’s closure during COVID and our desire to bring that museum learning into schools,” Amy Sparr, vice president of strategic initiatives at the Chicago Children’s Museum, told the board.

Principals and teachers described how the spaces are used. At Ellington Elementary, Principal Williams said students design, test and iterate projects in ways that build problem‑solving skills. Nicholson STEM Academy’s principal Mark Carson and teacher Ashley Logan described family engagement and lesson plans tied to the rooms; a Nicholson parent said her son now comes home excited about schoolwork.

Board members asked about scaling; McKinley said funders have committed to expanding the effort to five additional schools next year and encouraged interested sites to contact the Office of Early Childhood. The presentation also cited partnerships with Cook County Forest Preserves and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to broaden access to natural materials and regional museum‑based learning.

The board did not take formal action on the program at the meeting; district staff said they will continue selecting eligible sites and reporting back to the board on expansion and implementation timelines.