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History helps us to better understand current practices, struggles, and potential solutions. This chapter provides a look back at the long, rich history of child development laboratory programs in the U.S. over almost 80 years. In particular, it explores the original vision of those involved in the early days of “child study” and the evolution over time of a sample of three child development laboratory programs. The struggles of today’s child development laboratory programs in the areas of funding, collaboration, research, training, and service are not unique to our times. Many of these same issues have plagued child development laboratory programs in the past. The historical perspectives were developed using a range of data sources: some period pieces (primary sources), some historical accounts, oral history interviews, and records of activity at various sites, with the intention of developing the historical foundation of the child development laboratory program in order to understand better the challenges we face today.