Dr. Roberta Golinkoff Named Keynote Speaker for AATE and Imagination Stage's Symposium, 1/3-5

The American Alliance of Theatre and Education (AATE) and Imagination Stage are teaming up to present a two-day early childhood symposium. It will be held from Friday, January 3-Sunday, January 5, 2014. The symposium will offer the opportunity for creative exploration and practical application in the realm of early childhood theatre. The weekend includes a dynamic research panel that shares and validates the research being done on the powerful impact that participation in the arts has on a child's development. Additionally, the symposium includes opportunities for teaching artists and theatre professionals to engage in creative drama and arts integration activities. Participants will also attend Imagination Stage's production of Aquarium and engage in "hands on" post-performance sessions on a variety of techniques being used across the country to teach and create theatre for the very young.

The event will be headlined in a keynote address by Dr. Roberta Golinkoff , who is an expert on the importance of play and playful learning for children's learning and education. Dr. Golinkoff is an award-winning author of 12 books and over a 150 professional articles on early childhood and infant development. She founded and directs the Infant Language Project, which investigates the acquisition of native languages in infants and toddlers. Dr. Golinkoff also holds the Unidel H. Rodney Sharp Chair in the School of Education at the University of Delaware and is a member of the Departments of Psychology and Linguistics and Cognitive Science.

To register for the early childhood symposium, go to www.aate.com/ecs. The early bird cost is $85 for Student/Retired, $125 AATE Member, $145 Non-Member, early bird rates end on Friday, November 15th. The regular rates after the early bird are: $95 for Student/Retired, $135 AATE Member, $155 Non Member. For more information, call 301-200-1944.