The Capital Children's Museum, the Options School, and the Model Early Learning Center are the three major components of the National Learning Center. The museum exposes children to a variety of subjects and concepts, including fine arts, science, foreign and local cultures, and social history. Its exhibits are designed to promote active engagement with local and international communities, and active exploration of human capacities for communication and creation. In addition to the exhibits, the museum includes a computer lab which offers a variety of classes for children and adults, a media arts program that offers animation classes for beginning to advanced students, and a variety of additional programs designed to engage children and families in the educational process. The Options School is an intensive one-year dropout-prevention program serving 100 economically disadvantaged sixth and seventh graders who have been identified as being most at-risk of dropping out of school. The Model Early Learning Center is an adaptation of the preschool programs of Reggio Emilia. During 1994 the National Learning Center hosted a wide variety of exhibits, performances, and events as well as a symposium on Multiple Intelligences Theory in practice and on the philosophy and practices of the preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy. (AA)