From April 20 – 28, 2024 over 5 dozen organizations will open their doors to offer over 250 free or low-cost learning activities for families and youth at over 50 sites throughout the region as part of Wisconsin’s “Remake Learning Days: Badgerland” festival.

The annual festival, organized by local nonprofits and education leaders, creates dynamic moments of wonder, discovery and joyful learning for children, parents, caregivers, and educators. Its goal is to celebrate the power of hands-on learning and to connect families with free educational resources in their own communities.

The Wisconsin festival is part of the national “Remake Learning Days” initiative — considered the largest global learning festival bringing together students, families, teachers and local communities to experience the wonder of learning. The Wisconsin festival is part of 16 festivals planned in regions across the United States as well as in Uruguay, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

Wisconsin’s Remake Learning Days Festival takes place April 20-28 at over 60 locations across southcentral Wisconsin. The majority of events are free to youth and families and are organized around themes of the arts, sciences, maker mindset, outdoor learning, technology, and youth voice.

In southcentral Wisconsin over five dozen organizations, including museums, libraries, schools, afterschool programs, businesses and community organizations, are collaborating to bring innovative and joyful learning to the area, inviting families to:

● Enjoy two free Community-wide Festival Kick-Off events to celebrate the learning fun that Remake Learning Days has in store:
o Kids & Community Festival Kick-Off at the Beloit Public Library on Saturday, April 20th featuring hands-on activities, Zeke the support dog, live music, info and activity fair and a free community lunch, along with library festivities.
o Free Family Fun Night Celebration at the Madison Children’s Museum on Thursday, April 25th featuring live music, free access to the museum, on-air reporting and hands-on crafts and activities from local youth organizations; and
● Read to a Dog and enjoy other creative pursuits at the Madison Public Library and check out their offering of over 40 exciting programs;
● Hunt for trolls at the Mount Horeb Driftless Historium Troll Town Scavenger Hunt;
● Explore Stoughton’s Fab Lab and get to know Innovation Center Stoughton and its growing creative innovation community at over a dozen Stoughton-area hands-on events for youth and families throughout the week;
● Get behind the wheel of a massive front-end loader and bucket truck and find out more about trucks at Monona Public Library’s Touch a Truck event;
● Sway to the soothing melodies of Overture Center’s The Lullaby Project which pairs new parents with professional artists to write, sing and perform personal lullabies for their babies;
● and so much more!

Check www.remakelearningdays.org/badgerland for a search-friendly list of over 250 free and low-cost events and offerings that are part of the Badgerland Festival.

“Remake Learning Days supports parents and caregivers in the vital work they are doing to guide and grow with their children,” says WI Festival Coordinator, Kathe Crowley Conn. “These events connect them to fresh experiences and exciting resources right in the community.”

Why celebrate learning throughout the community? Organizers cite a growing body of research that shows shared community exploration and learning improves student academic performance and social skills, exposing them to a world of opportunities, interests and life-changing experiences.

Since its origins in southwest Pennsylvania in 2016, Remake Learning Days has become an unparalleled celebration of learning, leading the way in collaborative instruction. The festival has hosted more than 3,800 events across the U.S. for pre-K through high-school learners, reaching over 225,000 families.

Support for Wisconsin’s Remake Learning Days Festival is provided by The Kohler Foundation, Innovation Center Stoughton, Office Evolution-Madison Arboretum and other local supporters. For more information, visit www.remakelearningdays.org/badgerland