Bonnet House STEM Learning Outreach and Family Fun Day
This Winter, the Bonnet House Education Department has been busy promoting STEM Hands-On Learning in and around town! With generous funding from the Community Foundation of Broward, Bonnet House has participated in educational outreach in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties. Our Mission is to connect our historic home and grounds with similar historical locations sharing Florida-focused preservation, conservation, and stewardship.
On February 3rd, Bonnet House presented a STEM Design-A-Dome Architecture program for the 9th Annual Children’s Festival at the Coral Gables Woman’s Club in Coral Gables, Florida. In existence since 1923, the CGWC is part of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs which is the oldest and largest women’s volunteer service organization in the world. Children and their families used toothpicks, gum drops, and their imaginations to construct tabletop geodesic domes to celebrate the Centennial+1 of the CGWC Historic Building.
On February 10th, Bonnet House hosted a table at Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Boynton Beach, Florida to kick-off a weeklong Everglades Days Celebration. As one of the largest urban wildlife refuges in the Nation, Loxahatchee NWR provides habitat, food, water, shelter, and space to more than 250 species of birds, 60 species of reptiles and amphibians, 40 species of butterflies, and 20 types of mammals, many of which are Endangered or Threatened. Students and their families learned about Bonnet House, the Florida Aquifer, and its importance to the Everglades from our STEM Water Filtration project.
In March, Bonnet House will host our Family Fun Day on Saturday, March 23rd from 9:00a – 3:00p featuring two Classical Concerts by the Gold Coast Youth Orchestra. Guests will have the opportunity to take Self-guided Tours, challenge Florida History knowledge with Rhymes & Ciphers, meet Bonnet House Reenactors representing our Birch and Bartlett Families, walk with the Barefoot Mailman to the House of Refuge, and learn Architectural Design with Broward Architect Bruce Davis, AIA. In our historic Fruit Grove, FWS Loxahatchee NWR will join us for Python Awareness and Wildlife Conservation Games. Guest Visits from the City of Fort Lauderdale K9 and Mounted Police Units will take place throughout the day. Photos are encouraged!
Outreach would not be complete without Collaboration to build our STEM Learning Programs. We welcome Bruce Davis, AIA, of BD Architect LLC, BAM Broward Chapter of Black Architects in the Making, and Stacey Boynton, President South Florida Chapter, NOMA, National Organization of Minority Architects, who are developing our NEW STEM Design Series as part of our Green Connect Youth Stewardship Studies Program at Bonnet House.
Join us as Stewards to the legacy of preserving our natural environment as initiated by our Bonnet House Birch and Bartlett Families. We look forward to seeing you soon!
