A weatherman surveys Pittsburgh’s educational horizon, peering into schools, libraries, museums, factories, and start-ups. His forecast? Sunny—if we want it to be.

Sometimes a Remake Learning idea will go beyond a one-time exposure or a one-afternoon experience. It can become embedded within the extended and intimate relationships children have already formed with the adults near them. The “Baby Promise” project, funded through a Spark award from The Sprout Fund, was delivered through a home-visiting program for parents and young children. The project sought to promote creative and constructive use of new technology, like touchscreens, in the early development of young children.

What makes us try new things, especially when new things do not come easily? What makes us stick with challenges when we can see that others appear better and faster? Persistence, or grit, or stick-to-itiveness develops in us through enriching interactions with those near us, especially when we are trying, failing, and struggling.

One national initiative is bringing maker education to as many kids as possible. A partnership between the nonprofit Maker Education Initiative (Maker Ed) and AmeriCorps VISTA places volunteers at sites that provide maker opportunities for young learners.

The holidays are an especially inspiring time for sparking the desire to make. From gifts to cookies to decorations, it’s the season that naturally lends itself to busting out the craft bin, getting hands dirty, and letting imaginations run wild. This season, why not give the gift of more hands-on making experiences and upgrade the holiday season into an all-out maker extravaganza?

Eleven-year-old Caine Monroy has finally closed down his homemade cardboard box arcade. But at Assemble, a makeshop in Pittsburgh, there’s plenty of tinkering still going on.

President Obama proclaims June 18 a National Day of Making and turns to Pittsburgh for inspiration.

In discussions of how to build the future STEM workforce, modern manufacturing jobs usually don’t make the short list. Here’s why they should.

What does it take for today’s students to succeed? What is it exactly that makes some learners so self-directed, while others lack motivation? Pittsburgh students let us in on what keeps them engaged, and why it’s not all about grades.

Making is more than a hobby. The DIY movement that bridges hacking and inventing is also a discipline for innovation, and a learning methodology that more and more educators are using with students of all ages.

The City Paper visits Assemble and talks to founder Nina Marie Barbuto about her Spark-supported Learning Parties

Abby Mendelson writes about Nina Marie Barbuto and the learning parties at Assemble, where people come to have fun and learn-by-doing, in the Pittsburgh City Paper.