This article was written by Melissa Rayworth and shared with City Cast Pittsburgh by our friends at Kidsburgh.
Get ready, Pittsburgh-area families. Three weeks of fun and learning are coming your way when the Remake Learning Days festival kicks off on May 1. Running through May 23, this year’s festival includes more than 220 hands-on learning events happening all over southwestern Pennsylvania (nearly all of them free!) at local libraries, schools, tech centers, parks, museums, play spaces, community centers and more.
These events give kids and their grownups a chance to learn together, exploring art, science, technology, outdoor learning, maker projects and ideas that elevate youth voice, all while having fun as a family.
“It’s one of my favorite times of year, because families with kids of all ages can go out and explore their communities,” says Remake Learning Days co-producer Yu-Ling Cheng. “You never know what new passion you might discover for your child at one of these events.”
For families that have been considering an afterschool program or enrichment classes for their child, the festival is a perfect opportunity to experience something new for free.
“If there’s something that you’ve been thinking about trying but you’ve been hesitant to commit to it, Remake Learning Days lets you try it. You can see how it feels for your child and your family,” Cheng says. “If you like what you experience, then you can find even more resources like that.”
The festival, which began here in the Pittsburgh area, has now become a global celebration of learning, with events happening nationwide — and as far away as Uruguay, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
“This is our 10th anniversary, which seems incredible. We started in 2016 and it was just a little idea,” Cheng says. “What we’ve learned over the 10 years is that each year family-engaged learning is becoming even more important to families. Family-engaged learning is also a way to help extend the school day and help kids to learn in ways that feel relevant to them.”
Finding Events for Your Family
Though there are hundreds of events to choose from (including some happening virtually), it’s easy to find the ones that are right for your family. You can visit remakelearningdays.org , then choose Southwestern PA under “Find Your Region.” Or, you can go directly to the events dashboard for southwestern PA by clicking right here. You can scroll through all the events or search for events by date or theme.
Though the festival runs May 1-23, some event hosts were excited to get started early. So you’ll even find some events happening on April 30.
You’ll find so much to choose from and the choices are pretty remarkable:
Science-loving families won’t want to miss the Discover Scuba events happening at the Kingsley Center on May 7, in Penn Hills on May 17 and in Deer Lakes on May 18. Kids will get a chance to explore marine science and STEM careers like oceanography and underwater robotics with help from the Curious Minds Dive Foundation.
Upper St. Clair School District is hosting Unlocking 3D Printing: A Beginner’s Guide during several evening time slots on May 1. That same evening, College Square Elementary School will be hosting The Brick House, a LEGO brick building night for families and friends. (LEGO-loving families can also have fun on May 6, when Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh hosts Kids Club — LEGO Building Challenge.)
Families can also get creative at Riverview High School’s Wear Your Creativity: Fashion for All Abilities event or get their hands dirty during a Terrarium Takeover happening at Plum Borough Community Library, both taking place on May 7.
Explore here to find hundreds of additional events, including the 2025 GirlGov Symposium: Finding Our Voice, happening at 6 p.m. on May 1. This free, drop-in event is happening in Braddock Hills.
The Power of Learning Together
Attending Remake Learning Days events is a lot of fun for families and it helps you to discover local learning resources in your community. But these events actually do even more: They help kids get inspired alongside their parents and caregivers, and that can have a positive impact that ripples out for years to come.
Research has shown that learning together as a family has real benefits.
After surveying hundreds of attendees at past Remake Learning Days events in the Pittsburgh region, the Global Family Research Project (GFRP) found that family engagement in STEAM learning makes students more likely to succeed academically, more likely to take advanced STEAM courses, and more likely to pursue STEAM-related careers.
So dive in! There are hundreds of events happening throughout the region, so it’s easy to find some that appeals to every member of your family.
