Ten years ago, Remake Learning Days started as a question:
Could the region show off the incredible things happening in schools, libraries, museums, and beyond? Could it celebrate — and spread the word about — the world-class opportunities offered to kids and families? If so, what would that celebration look like? Who would participate?
Yu-Ling Cheng, co-producer of Remake Learning Days, said suggestions came pouring in from across the region. Such a celebration could naturally include teachers, after-school educators and parents. But it could also cast an even wider net: “The recycling center in a neighborhood that hosts these fun maker events for kids,” said Cheng, rattling off example after example. “And the parks that share they can do a special learning event on bird world migration day.”
It was, Cheng said, “a defining point for Remake Learning,” a peer network of educators, artists, and innovators in southwestern Pennsylvania.
From that came Remake Learning Days, one of the world’s largest open houses for hands-on learning for youth, families, grandparents and educators to discover creative ways of learning. Since then, the festival has proven so popular that it now reaches 15 regions around the world.
And it all started in Pittsburgh. Now celebrating its tenth anniversary, Remake Learning Days’ Southwestern Pennsylvania festival runs May 1 through May 23, with hundreds of hands-on learning events designed for kids of all ages (pre-K through high school) and their families, caregivers and educators. Most events—hosted by libraries, schools, tech centers, parks, museums, play spaces, and community centers across Allegheny and surrounding counties—are free.