The Discovery Child Care Centre is celebrating the opening of their newly expanded child-care facility, announced Minister of Children and Family Development Mary Polak.

The expansion - supported by $500,000 in major capital funding from the ministry - will allow the centre to offer up to 32 child-care spaces, including 16 new spaces for children three to five years of age.

"The Discovery Child Care Centre is now able to meet a need that is very real in Prince Rupert - a continuum of care from infancy right through to school age," said Polak. "That consistency not only gives peace of mind to families who have built up a longstanding relationship with the centre, it also means more opportunities for siblings and peers to learn together in a warm, safe, familiar environment."

The centre offers enhanced programming to infants, toddlers and now preschool-aged children in the community. Through activity-based and age-appropriate learning, children learn language and sensory skills, art, science, math and more. The centre also emphasizes culture in their daily activities, to reflect the high population of Aboriginal people in Prince Rupert.

The Discovery Child Care Centre is the first facility-based child- care centre in Prince Rupert to offer care for children ranging from newborn to school-age. Prior to the funding, the centre offered child-care services to children under the age of three.

"Our building expansion and new child-care spaces allow us to offer child-care services from birth until a child is ready to attend kindergarten," said Trina Boyd, president, Prince Rupert Options for Social Growth Society. "As a parent, I know how important this continuity of care is. The society greatly appreciates the commitment of the ministry, which has allowed us to better serve the families of Prince Rupert."

The Discovery Child Care Centre is also the site of one of the province's Young Parent Program. Through a partnership with School District 52, the centre offers priority spaces for teen parents who are trying to complete their secondary education while caring for their child.