In Vilnius, in the Pilaitė microdistrict, one of the most modern kindergartens "Vydūnėlis" opens its doors, which has a swimming pool and is characterized by exceptional solutions for even more effective education of children, their physical activity. 10 groups of young Vilnius residents have already been formed, 6 more groups will be completed and will start attending the kindergarten from September. In total, up to 320 children will attend the kindergarten.
"This is one of the most modern kindergartens in Vilnius, with a swimming pool, and all the spaces in the preschool building are used to the maximum, so that children have the opportunity to move safely not only in their group, but also to explore the environment around them and play in it. We will soon begin the design of another kindergarten, which is currently being completed." In Pilaite", Pajautos St. construction," says the Mayor of Vilnius Valdas Benkunskas.
The new kindergarten currently has 6 groups of children under three years of age and two for 3-4 year olds, as well as two for 4-5 year olds. When registration for admission to the kindergarten began, it was planned to start with 8 groups of children, but 10 were completed. In the first stage, 140 were planned to be admitted, and 170 were admitted, most of the children had not previously attended any kindergarten, and nine were admitted from other kindergartens. With the opening of the new kindergarten in Pilaitė, we managed to reduce the waiting list by half. Currently, the most children are waiting for the kindergarten "Vydūnėlis" for the new school year.
"Today, I would like to thank the many people who contributed to the growth of this kindergarten - the surrounding residents for their understanding and patience, the specialists of the Municipality, the Vilnius Development Company for moving the work forward, the community of Pilaitė residents for their constant interest and advice, and the best contractors for working at such a pace that we barely had time to buy furniture. Although it has only been a month and is not yet fully filled with children, "Vydūnėlis" is already working smoothly, and director Monika Kelpšienė has assembled a team of excellent educators. It remains only to wish the newly assembled team and the new kindergarten the greatest success in educating the little Vilnius residents, raising them to be creative, curious and happy people," says Donalda Meiželytė, Vice Mayor of Vilnius.
The interior spaces of the kindergarten are optimally adapted to children's development, physical activity, development of social and artistic skills, safe movement within their own group and in common spaces. When creating the interior, the importance of artistic expression in the educational process was taken into account - ergonomic, multifunctional furniture was designed, and wall and floor surfaces were adapted for creativity and artistic experiments of the little ones.
Natural materials dominate the interior and exterior finishes and furniture – durable, heat- and steam-treated wood, parquet boards, wood fiber acoustic panels, natural colors and unique textures.
The U-shaped building, which is located in the sleeping quarters, has an inner courtyard, which is intended for the children to move freely and communicate with each other. The terrace in the courtyard will host community events. events, sports activities, and you can play music here with special outdoor instruments.
Each group has a separate shelter with its own play equipment. To encourage children's exploration, special areas have been provided in the kindergarten's outdoor space where flower, herb or leafy plant nurseries can be grown.
All spaces are open and interact with each other - they have glass facades to the inner courtyard, glass doors to groups and offices, and large windows to the outside.
The unique highlight of this nursery school is the green roof and a 24 sq. m., up to 60 cm deep swimming pool for children.
The name for the nursery school was chosen by the residents of Pilaitė themselves. There were two stages of choosing a name in total. In the first stage, the residents of Pilaitė suggested more than 50 names. In the second stage, the local community voted online for the most popular name ("Vydūnėlis").
Currently, 28693 children attend kindergartens in the capital, there are 126 nurseries-kindergartens, 12 kindergartens-schools and 26 general education schools with preschool and pre-primary education groups. There are 1515 groups operating - 416 groups for children under 3 years of age, 771 groups for children from 3 to 6 years of age and 328 pre-primary education groups.
In 2024–2025, 8818 children were enrolled in Vilnius preschool education institutions. About 72 percent of them entered kindergartens chosen by their parents as the first priority. There are currently 708 vacant places left in Vilnius kindergartens.
Soon, construction work will begin on the kindergarten at Žemynos St. 2c, the design is being completed and public procurement for construction work will begin at Pajautos St. 7, and the following kindergartens are also being designed: Kernavės St. 82, Aušrinės St. 10A, Bieliūnų St. 5,9, Braškių St. 54
After the restoration of Independence, this is the 12th new preschool institution in Vilnius, since 2016 another 5 have been established in renovated buildings, and 7 more nurseries have been established in municipal or rented premises.
The project of the most modern kindergarten in the capital was implemented by Vilnius Development Company, and after completing it, the company remains responsible for the administration of the kindergarten premises. The educational institution was built by UAB "Gilesta". The construction of the kindergarten (with furniture) cost about 11 million euros.
