Watching a child discover the world for the first time carries its own kind of magic. Mainstream education often moves quickly to provide fixed answers, but one collective has chosen a different approach. Growing from the same roots, Alam Atelier School Jakarta and ISMILE Bandung are reshaping early childhood learning in their cities.
Both campuses are guided by the progressive Reggio Emilia approach, a philosophy that views children from 6 months to 6 years old as capable and creative individuals with the potential to shape their own understanding of the world.
Alam Atelier School Jakarta
Tucked away in the green pockets of Cilandak, South Jakarta, Alam Atelier School turned its campus into an open‑air gallery. The exhibition, “Where Every Seed Becomes a Story,” opened on 8 May 2026 and ran throughout the month, beautifully illustrating how simple curiosity can blossom into a learning journey. Through this nature-integrated setting, the voice and innate wonder of each child shaped the entire experience, finding expression through movement, language and hands-on experimentation.
“In every question a child asks, there is a story of growth unfolding. This exhibition invites us to see learning not as results, but as a journey shaped by curiosity, connection, and meaning,” said Ms. Supiani Winata, Director of Alam Atelier School Jakarta.
As families wandered through the open-air gallery, they discovered projects revealing a surprising depth for children under six years old. The exhibits spanned dynamic movement studies, relationship-building, social-emotional learning and spatial explorations, alongside practical investigations into water systems, filtration and environmental sustainability.
The whole showcase is really about building a bridge between the classroom and the home. “We see this exhibition not only as a reflection of children’s learning, but as a shared experience within our community. It begins with our parents, who are part of the journey, before we open it to a wider audience. More than that, it is a way to open a broader conversation about what meaningful learning can look like today, where children are not simply learning to answer, but learning to think, to question, and to express their understanding of the world,” shared Maryati Lauw, Director of Operations, Alam Atelier School Jakarta.
The month-long exhibition celebrated discovery, offering visitors a firsthand look at education thriving with curiosity and connection.
Alam Atelier Jakarta
Jl. Pangeran Antasari 19
@alamatelierjakarta
ISMILE Bandung
The exhibition continues in Bandung with “Shapes of Thoughts,” ISMILE’s annual Project Work Exhibition held last May. Walking through the school, families discovered areas redesigned as living galleries where children’s questions too over the installations, documentation and stories. The projects on display showed how playful curiosity can lead to some really meaningful discoveries across every age group.
The school chose to emphasise the evolutionary path of thinking itself. “Thoughts do not arrive fully formed. They begin as something small, a question, a gesture, a material touched for the first time, and grow through the time and space we give them,” explains Ms. Supiani Winata, Director of ISMILE. “This exhibition is an invitation to follow that journey alongside our children.”
The sheer variety of ideas on display this year was amazing: infants experimented with sound, toddlers explored water, and older kids spent time tracing shadows, bending wire into geometric shapes, watching millipedes, talking about respect and imagining the planets out in space. All of the documentation and installations captured these moments, making it easy to see how children think, connect and make sense of their world.
For the team at ISMILE, bringing the community into this process is essential to their mission. “We see this exhibition as a shared experience, one that begins with our families and opens to the wider community,” says Maryati Lauw, Director of Operations, ISMILE. “It is a way to make learning visible, and to invite a broader conversation about what it means for children to truly think, question, and grow.”
ISMILE Bandung
Jl. Hegarmanah No. 26, Cidadap
@ismile.bdg
