As part of a cooperative effort with Stillwater Junior High School during the 1920s, Oklahoma A&M College allowed these students to study a group of preschoolers for a class, marking the beginnings of what would become the Child Development Lab.

Cleo L. Craig Child Development Lab prepares to celebrate 100th anniversary

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Media Contact: Kirsi McDowell | Senior Communications Specialist | 405-744-9347 | kirsi@okstate.edu

CDL teacher reads to young students in image from 1924 archives. In 2024, the Cleo L. Craig Child Development Lab will mark its 100th anniversary at Oklahoma State University.

Planning is underway to celebrate the centennial with events and activities throughout 2024.

As the second oldest land-grant university-based child development lab in the nation, the CDL has served the Stillwater community in various iterations since it first opened as a nursery school in 1924.

Beyond providing excellent child care, the CDL currently affords training opportunities for early childhood education students. It is a center for interdisciplinary research in areas of child growth and development, curriculum development, assessment and screening, effective instructional practices and literacy development for students and faculty of the College of Education and Human Sciences as well as the OSU campus.

The CDL holds accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and is an Oklahoma State Department of Education Accredited Non-Public School. It has been rated as a five-star child care facility by the state of Oklahoma and its Department of Human Services as of December 2022.

Connect With Us for the Centennial Celebration

Did you or your child attend the CDL? Did you or a family member work at the CDL? No matter your connection, we want you to be part of the celebration!

Please fill out this brief form to share your contact information: okla.st/cdlanniversary

Photos By: CEHS Marketing and Library Archives

Story By: Kirsi McDowell | ASPIRE Magazine