Remake Learning: Pittsburgh’s premier family educational festival is catching on worldwide
Rooted in the idea that we learn best when we learn together, Remake Learning Days capitalizes on connection and brings together children and caregivers in intergenerational learning adventures and encourages families to wonder, explore, and learn together.
“Through drawing on the strengths of educators and organizations in our region, Remake Learning Days fosters moments of magic for children and families. These events are not only special moments, but the beginning of new adventures in learning” shares Dorie Taylor, Producer for Remake Learning Days.
Remake Learning will kick off on May 2nd with a statewide discoverED catapult design challenge. First and second-grade classrooms will collaborate virtually across Pennsylvania to plan, create, and iterate their own catapult design challenge. The event connects schools with different strengths and experiences to learn from one another. A live feed of this event will be streamed between school “pen pals” to launch Remake Learning Days across the Commonwealth.
Remake Learning will propel learning from May 4–23 through an engaging itinerary from creators and organizations across the area, including inviting families to:
- Simulate a lunar mission with the Moonshot Museum
- Engage with local artists during live hot glass making and electrifying gas demonstrations in the Pittsburgh Glass Center studios
- Enjoy reel fun through lunchtime fishing with Venture Outdoors
- Build a microscope, meet a scientist, and learn about cancer research at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
- Craft a cozy, outdoor habitat for local bugs with bug hotels from the Carnegie Library
- Find their voice and say “action” to the magic of movies with WQED Film Academy
- Code an animal in a virtual habitat for a robotics petting zoo with Upper St. Clair Robotics Club
- Weave baskets using foraged natural materials with the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh’s MakeShop
- And so much more! Click here for the full list of nearly 200 events in southwestern PA.
Featured this year, the Remake Learning Days’ Career Ready Backpack Challenge offers a seamless opportunity available through Career Ready PA and The Pennsylvania Department of Education for students to obtain artifacts for their career readiness portfolio by participating in events tagged with a “backpack” across Pennsylvania. Students who participate will earn a Career Ready PA Backpack Challenge digital badge towards workforce training and career portfolio requirements. Career Ready PA will also award a banner to schools with up to 100 artifacts.
Festival events offer a variety of accessible options and are organized by different learning themes, including arts, maker, outdoor learning, science, technology and youth voice. There are also Professional Development sessions for educators of every type, whether school, out-of-school, child care, or non-traditional educators. Attendees can search events by date/time, location, learning theme, age group (pre-K through high school), and more.
“No one understands collaboration better than Southwestern Pennsylvania,” said Yu-Ling Cheng, Producer for Remake Learning Days. “When two things come together, opportunity blossoms and fresh experiences spark. Fitting for the City of Bridges, many of this year’s events explore the interplay between our natural and built world, between creativity and science and more.”
The event is paralleled by regional Remake Learning Days festivals happening across 12 regions across the United States, including 6 regions within Pennsylvania, and spanning the globe, with three international locations in Uruguay, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The majority of events are free to youth and families.
Since its origins in southwest Pennsylvania in 2016, Remake Learning Days has become an unparalleled open house of learning, leading the way in collaborative instruction. The festival has hosted more than 2,350+ events across the U.S. for pre-K through high-school learners at libraries, schools, tech centers, museums, play spaces, community centers, and more, reaching over 175,000 families.
Remake Learning Days is generously funded by the Festival Lead Sponsor The Grable Foundation as well as regional support by The Richard King Mellon Foundation, PNC Bank, University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Schell Games, Covestro and The Buhl Foundation. The festival is led by Remake Learning and supported by partners PBS Kids, Common Sense Media and Learning Heroes along with 15 lead regional organizations. For more information, visit https://remakelearningdays.org/
About Remake Learning (Global and National Lead Organization)
Remake Learning is a free, peer network for educators and innovators that originated in Pittsburgh and now extends worldwide. The network helps connect people, projects, and organizations, making it easier for them to share best practices, collaborate on new ideas, and find funding and professional learning. In 2022, Remake Learning celebrated its 15th anniversary with members and friends from across the region, country, and world. Learn more at remakelearning.org.
About Grable Foundation (Global and National Festival Sponsor)
The Grable Foundation is guided by its mission to help children and youth become independent, caring, contributing members of society by supporting programs critical to children’s successful development. Learn more at grable.org.
