Remake Learning Days-Badgerland Celebration

media release: Join us and make a 'joyful noise' at the Madison Children’s Museum’s “Free Family Fun Night” as youth, families and caregivers celebrate the fun of learning together. This free community event is part of Wisconsin’s “Remake Learning Days Festival” - a showcase of free educational activities for youth at over 60 sites across southcentral Wisconsin during the festival’s April 20-28 run.

During this free official Madison-area celebration, families will enjoy full access of the Museum and its award-winning exhibit spaces, including the Art Studio, Possible-opolis, the Wonderground and Rooftop Ramble; enjoy live music from the Forward! Marching Band and Madison Cello Ensemble, and partake in a variety of hands-on arts, crafts and science activities.

As a special treat, Master of Ceremonies 27 Storm Track Chief Meteorologist Cameron Hopman will broadcast the weather live from the Museum for the 5 and 6pm 27 News and will share his love of weather science. WKOW-27 is the Festival’s official media sponsor.

In addition to free access to the Museum offerings, nearly a dozen local organizations will be hosting hands-on Activity Tables throughout the Museum. Groove to Madison Cello Ensemble’s “Good Vibrations”; twist and shout with the Forward! Marching Band; make crafts; design your own mini museum exhibit; explore the world of worms; get crafty with animals, and more!

The following activities and organizations will provide free activities:

• Forward! Marching Band –twist and shout during the 6:30pm performance

• WI Science Festival – catch the science buzz and meet Beesly, the festival mascot

• UW Neuroscience Students Team – explore the inner world of the brain

• Lussier Family Heritage Center – get wiggly and learn about the world of worms

• Henry Vilas Zoo – explore animal friends and make your own magnet craft

• Girl Scouts of WI Badgerland – get crafty with a make and take-home art project

• Wisconsin Historical Society – design your own museum exhibit and take-home activity

• Madison Cello Ensemble – explore soothing sounds and the science of “good vibrations”

• Play games, make music, learn about programs and so much more!

The public is invited to drop in anytime during event hours to enjoy the festivities and hands-on activities.

The Madison Children’s Museum event is one of over 250 free and low-cost, family-friendly events featured in the nonprofit Remake Learning Days Festival throughout Southcentral Wisconsin. Explore a search-friendly list of over 250 free and low-cost activities featured in the Festival at www.remakelearningdays.org/badgerland

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:

»       Kids & Community Festival Kick-Off at the Beloit Public Library on Saturday, April 20^th featuring hands-on activities, Zeke the support dog, live music, info and activity fair and a free community lunch, along with library festivities.

»       Free Family Fun Night Celebration at the Madison Children’s Museum on Thursday, April 25^th 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!

Click here for a full 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, WKOW-TV and other local supporters.  For more information, visit remakelearningdays.org/badgerland