Children's Learning Adventure, an early childhood education, after-school and summer camp provider for children ages six weeks to 12 years, will open its second Twin Cities location this weekend, bringing with it 100 new jobs to the metro area.
The Phoenix-based company will have a grand opening for its new 33,000-square-foot location at 7750 Galpin Blvd. in Chanhassen on Saturday.
The campus will feature a science center with a planetarium, multimedia room that includes a television studio and video camera equipment, library, technology center, art studio, and an indoor basketball gym. It also will offer bowling lanes, a culinary classroom, dance studio, ballet studio, and outdoor playground with basketball and tennis courts.
Prices for various programs vary by state, according to the company's website.
Children's Learning Adventure, which started in 2008, opened its first Minnesota location last June in Maple Grove and operates roughly 40 learning centers in 11 states throughout the U.S.
"When we go to new markets, we study the cities and surrounding areas closely to locate within family-oriented communities in which education is paramount in the lives of parents," said Daniel Petersen, vice president of development for Children's Learning Adventure. "The Twin Cities has an extensive, highly educated workforce, which is ideal when contemplating new locations for CLA."
Children's Learning Adventure will have to compete with two prominent early childhood education, aftercare and summer program providers in Minnesota. Plymouth-based New Horizon Academy has over 64 locations in Minnesota, the bulk of them in the Twin Cities, while YMCA of the North has several locations in the area.
"We are familiar with New Horizon, but I don’t necessarily view this as a competition," Petersen said. "There are a lot of families that are looking for the right fit for their children. CLA offers an entirely different approach to early childhood education. Our goal was to create a curriculum and facility that were educationally enriching, mentally stimulating and just plain fun for children. Our core value is education itself. There is no age group at CLA that is simply daycare."