300-plus (mostly free) activities spark excitement for kids through Remake Learning Days

The school year is almost over, but the quest for knowledge is just getting started.

More than 300 educational events will be held throughout the Pittsburgh region May 9-19 during Remake Learning Days.  The festival connects kids from pre-K through high school with a network of facilities – schools, museums, libraries, parks, businesses, churches, non-profit organizations and community centers – where they can let their imaginations run wild. All events are open to the public. Download a brochure for your region here.

Through hands-on activities (the majority of which are free), kids and their caregivers create art and code, build robots, explore nature and learn what it takes to be a leader. The website boasts an interactive schedule of events searchable by learning theme, date, location and age group. Families can easily find nearby activities of interest for their kids.

In 2018, more than 20,000 people participated, prompting the celebration to spread from its Southwestern Pennsylvania origins to other parts of the country, including West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Illinois.

This year’s kick-off party will be held May 9 at Carnegie Museum of Art, where hundreds of students and teachers will take part in a collaborative design challenge. Admission is free, but with limited space, register here in advance.

Here’s a sampling of the diverse events scheduled throughout Allegheny County:

Manufacturing Your Career at New Century Careers Open House: May 9 from 9 a.m. to noon.  High school students are invited to explore the world of manufacturing at NCC’s Training Innovation Center on the South Side. Visitors will learn about the facility’s tuition-free machinist training program, MANUFACTURING 2000 (M2K), and SWPA BotsIQ, a manufacturing workforce development program/high school robotics competition.

Making Animated Bumpers and Intros at Quaker Valley Middle School: May 9 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. The middle school will host young YouTubers, giving them tips on enhancing their online content with short, stop-motion videos.

Stories Alive!!! at the Deborah D. Booker Community Center: May 9 from 4 to 7 p.m. Hosted by the Allegheny County Housing Authority, the event is an interactive version of Maya Angelou’s poem “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me.” K-12 students will recreate, recite and act out the piece with props, backdrops and moving characters.

After-School Garden Celebration Party at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh: May 10 from 3 to 5 p.m. During this all-ages shindig, folks can learn about the museum’s garden, taste some of the first crops of the season and take home a seed to start their own little backyard farm.

Lights and Shadows: Making Pittsburgh Art at Night at the Sen. John Heinz History Center: May 10 from 7 to 9 p.m. Inspired by the History Center’s collection of prints, paintings, and photographs, artists in grades 3-8 will make their own Pittsburgh masterpieces.

So, You Like to Dance! at The Legacy Arts Project: May 11 from 2 to 5 p.m. All ages and skill levels are invited to try different moves, including ballet, hip hop and West African dance, in this cross-cultural workshop.

STEM: Discover Geodes at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – East Liberty: May 13 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.  Scientists in grades K-5 will conduct STEM experiments, develop thinking and observation skills and break open geodes, nature’s little treasure chests at the library’s E. Whitfield Street location.

Holocaust Short Films for Teens at SouthSide Works Cinema: May 14 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Film Pittsburgh’s TEEN SCREEN gives high school students an opportunity to see six short films exploring little-known stories of the Holocaust. There also will be presentations from an experienced educator and a Holocaust survivor.

Buzy Bees at Propel Andrew Street High School: May 14 from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. The school’s beekeeping program is a crash course in hive maintenance, honey extraction and business planning.

YES: Community Matters at Youth Enrichment Services, Inc.: May 16 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Through community-based participatory research, high school students investigate lead exposure in Lincoln-Larimer and tobacco marketing throughout lower income areas in Pittsburgh.