Suncoast Remake Learning Days

Suncoast Remake Learning Days, a 10-day free learning festival produced by the Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading with support from The Patterson Foundation, took place from April 21-30, 2023. The first Remake Learning Days festival was established in 2016 in Pittsburgh, PA, by the Remake Learning network with support from the Grable Foundation. Since that time, Remake Learning Days has taken root in 16 regions across the United States, Uruguay, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. The Suncoast region produced its first Suncoast Remake Learning Days Festival in 2022. The robust engagement of partner organizations across the Suncoast region in 2023, with more than 200 events put forth by more than 270 organizations with more than 25,000 attendees, made the 2023 Suncoast Remake Learning Days Festival one of the largest in the world.

Each event included in Suncoast Remake Learning Days was free and open to the public and featured opportunities for children and families to learn together.

Arcadia Housing Authority, under the leadership of Executive Director Becky-Sue Mercer, hosted four events that truly embodied the wonder, creativity, and joy of the festival.

These four events featured different learning themes and gave families enjoyable opportunities to learn and grow together. "Totally Turtles and Wild Watersheds" incorporated an outdoor learning theme, "Artsy Animal Facts" was centered on the Arts, "Build Your Own: Planter, Paint, Plant!" was a "maker" event, and "Learn Aviation Hands-On" focused on science. These varied approaches allowed the 354 individuals attending the various events to engage in the wonder, curiosity, and joy of many kinds of learning.

Totally Turtles and Wild Watersheds

At this event, children and their caregivers were able to explore and learn about native species to Florida found throughout our four-county region. In a partnership with Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, families further learned what is harming local species and what they can do to protect them. One attendee said, "This is a great collaboration, there are multiple activities/stations available, and everything is fun and educational," while another said, "Kids were excited to "touch" real animal shells and skins." Totally Turtles was Totally full of wonder, curiosity, and joy!

Artsy Animal Facts

Animals and art it does not get better than this! At this event, families were to learn about the lifespan of different animals, partake in rock painting and face paint, and even learn directly from a veterinarian. Parents were encouraged to use the ultrasound machine first to show the kids how to do it and truly learn together.

Build Your Own: Planter, Paint, Plant!

Mixing DIY crafts and green thumbs brought out creative learning for families who attended this event. In a cross-sector partnership with Home Depot, North Port, the Arcadia Housing Authority was able to create a joyous hands-on learning environment for all. One attendee noted, "I'm surprised how many kids had never used a hammer - but boy, did they quickly learn." Another attendee noted, "It was a joy seeing the kids and parents working together to build." It was certainly an engaging event that brought together buildings and plants.

Learn Aviation Hands On

One of the biggest collaborations that took place was between Arcadia Housing Authority and a local pilot and the City to bring a helicopter to DeSoto County for children and their families to actually climb in the helicopter to learn about aviation! Attendees watched the magnificent helicopter land in the Housing Authority's "backyard" and then took turns gathering around to learn from the pilot and climb inside to get a closer look. Excitement flowed throughout this event as the adults were in the helicopter just as much as the kids were. One attendee noted the magic as "the opportunity for kids to see a helicopter for the first time and in their backyard is truly special!" The sheer dedication that went into making this event is admirable and, based on the looks on attendees' faces, worth it.

Creating Suncoast Remake Learning Days provided opportunities for connections between nonprofits, agencies, businesses, and arts organizations, strengthening the region's learning ecosystem. The Arcadia Housing Authority connected, collaborated with community partners, and created memorable events for families, reinforcing the notion that "Learning Happens Everywhere."