All-Electric Mobile Preschool Brings Programming to Colorado

  • By Yvonne Marquez
  • 09/28/20

A Colorado non-profit will launch a mobile preschool experience in October for families with children ages 3 to 5 years old who do not attend a traditional preschool program. Vail Valley Foundation’s YouthPower365, along with Winnebago’s Specialty Vehicle Division, unveiled an all-electric, emission-free vehicle called the “Magic Bus” Mobile Preschool.

Vail Valley Foundation’s YouthPower365, along with Winnebago’s Specialty Vehicle Division, unveiled an all-electric, emission-free vehicle called the “Magic Bus” Mobile Preschool.

The all-electric bus will join a gas-powered counterpart to serve neighborhoods in Eagle County, Colorado beginning Oct. 5. Classes will be an hour-and-a-half long, four days a week and free of charge to help make early childhood learning available to as many children and families in the community as possible.

“The children and families served by the Magic Bus need to be kindergarten-ready even considering the current crisis,” YouthPower365 PwrUp Senior Manager Kendra Cowles said in a press release. “The Magic Bus plays a critical role in preparing them to successfully transition to school.”

Children will be able to take part in songs, read-alouds, exercise games and vocabulary-building activities in English and Spanish to help prepare fore kindergarten.

 “The bus is customized to operate as a center-based preschool classroom, complete with dramatic play and kitchen areas, building blocks and plenty of dinosaurs,” Cowles says.

The Magic Bus is comprised of Winnebago Industries’ standard J33SE zero-emission commercial vehicle and utilizes Motiv Power Systems’ all-electric EPIC Ford F-53 chassis. Summit Bodyworks worked on the vehicle upfit.

“We are pleased to see our all-electric vehicle platform being used to provide early childcare programs for Eagle County’s low-income families. The all-electric vehicle will enable operation in a quiet, emission-free manner,” Robert Kim, Director of the Winnebago Industries Specialty Vehicle Division, said in a press release.

COVID-19 protocols such as social distancing, face masks, frequent hand washing and cleaning will take place on the bus.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Zurn Releases New Ductile Iron Frame Trench Drain System

    Zurn Elkay Water Solutions recently released the newest addition to its Train Drench portfolio, the Ductile Iron Frame Trench Drain System, according to a news release. The product is designed for heavy-duty applications like airports, military, universities, and more.

  • Image courtesy of MiEN Company

    6 Ways to Pull Off a Major District Construction Project

    Designing and building a large-scale project on a K–12 campus is a monumental undertaking that requires the right blend of ideas, funding, design and execution to get it right. The process also relies on multiple partners, each of which has to handle its respective aspect of the project while also keeping the district’s broader mission and goals in mind.

  • California District Starts Construction on New Robotics Facility

    The Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) near Silicon Valley, Calif., recently announced that construction has begun on a new Robotics Facility on the campus of Cupertino High School, according to a news release. The 14,500-square-foot facility will serve students at high schools across the entire district, providing purpose-built spaces for student creativity and collaboration.

  • i-PRO, NovoTrax Partner for New School Emergency Response Solution

    i-PRO Americas, Inc., which manufactures edge computing cameras, recently announced a partnership with NovoTrax, provider of end-to-end life safety and mass notification solutions, to address gaps in emergency response workflows at K–12 schools, according to a news release.

Digital Edition