Photo via Calgary Public Library Foundation
Kids in Calgary will have a new dedicated outdoor learning space to help boost development in early childhood.
A donor-funded outdoor learning space is coming to Signal Hill Library, supported by the Calgary Public Library Foundation.
The Outdoor Early Learning Centre will open at the end of the summer. It marks the next major phase of the Calgary Public Library Foundation’s Pathway to Play campaign.
This new early learning centre is just one amongst a growing network of outdoor and indoor learning spaces across Calgary. The Calgary Public Library Foundation has installed 13 early learning centres, designed with flexibility in mind to promote literacy through play.
The innovative play area aligns with the Government of Canada’s recent investment in early learning and child care, which aims to help Canadian children get the best start in life. Budget 2021 committed up to $30 billion over five years across Canadian provinces and territories.
Pathway to Play launched in March 2025 with the goal of bringing vibrant outdoor learning opportunities to southwest Calgary.
Located below Battalion Park and adjacent to Westhills Towne Centre, Signal Hill Library is one of the busiest library locations in the city. The library serves a diverse and growing population of families, seniors, students, and members of the nearby Tsuut’ina Nation.
Permanent play structures, open-ended imagination spaces and thoughtful natural landscaping will promote creativity, physical literacy and family connection beyond the walls of the traditional Library.
The new outdoor learning space is part of a larger early learning strategy fostered by the Calgary Public Library Foundation.
The first early learning centre opened in March 2016 — by the end of 2017, the Calgary Public Library Foundation added an additional 10 early learning centres to their roster.
These public spaces provide a boost to local families and community members in Calgary. Among Library patrons, 92 per cent think the Library is an essential resource for their child’s early development.
Donor support has helped foster these innovative new multi-use learning spaces. All 13 of the existing early learning centres are donor-funded.
Gifts of $250 or more will allow donors to inscribe their name on a window inside the space.
“This new outdoor learning space is made possible entirely through donor support,” says Tracy Johnson, CEO of the Calgary Public Library Foundation. “Every contribution to the Pathway to Play Campaign helps create spaces where children can explore, imagine, and learn.”
Public library locations with early learning centres see up to 400 per cent increases in regular attendance, and 64 per cent of children using early learning centres bring inspired ways of play back home with them.
“As construction begins, we’re excited to invite the community to continue supporting this special project and leave their mark for generations to come,” says Johnson.
That means the sky’s the limit for Calgary kids looking to bring new methods of play to their homes and communities.
The new Early Learning Space at Signal Hill Library is set to open by the end of this summer. We can’t wait!
When: Monday to Friday, year-round
Where: 5994 Signal Hill Centre SW
Cost: Free
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