A new child care center, set to open on campus in early May, will offer parent information sessions and tours on three dates beginning March 25.

The Hutchison Child Development Center will boost the number of child care spaces on campus by more than 40 percent.

Located at 1055 Extension Center Drive near the Recreation Pool Lodge, the center will be licensed for 112 children ages birth through pre-kindergarten. It will also offer a summer program for elementary school children up to age 12.

The center, which will give enrollment priority to the children of UC Davis students and employees, is offering parent information sessions and tours on the following dates:

• Tuesday, March 25, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.;
• Wednesday, April 2, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.; and
• Thursday, April 3, from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

The center will offer full-time and, beginning with two-year-olds, part-time spots for two, three or five days a week. Monthly tuition for full-time care five days a week ranges from $845 to $1,236, depending on the age of the child.

Bright Horizons, an international company specializing in employer-sponsored child care programs, will operate the center.

Other child care centers on campus, the La Rue Park and Russell Park child development centers, accommodate a total of about 187 children.

The Early Childhood Lab at the Center for Child and Family Studies is a teaching and research laboratory for the Department of Human and Community Development and provides part-time programs for about 70 children ages 6 months through 5 years.

To learn more about the new center, visit the center's Web site for information on the placement process, pre-enrollment and waiting list policies, a registration form and tuition fees. Or contact Robin Sweeney, director of the center, at (916) 367-2317.