Education Lab Environment is the third teacher. - Loris Malaguzzi Everything about the environment of an early childcare setting impacts the children, teachers’, and families’ experiences. The environment impacts behavior, socialization, curiosity, safety, comfort, self-regulation, exploration, higher-level thinking, communication, etc. In the Early Childhood Education Lab students work in an innovative space that combines an adult academic learning environment with hands-on opportunities to practice with the materials, tools, knowledge, and skills needed to critique and design early childhood learning environments. Students work collaboratively to play and experiment in order to deepen their understanding of how children learn and grow.