Remake Learning Days will offer 150+ ways to help your child become career-ready. Which will you choose?

Between May 4 and May 23, the Pittsburgh region will be home to more than 200 hands-on learning events for kids and their families during Remake Learning Days. Among this group of arts, maker, outdoor learning, science, technology and youth voice events, more than 150 carry a special label: They are “career-ready” events. 

These events help kids build STEM skills and other “employability” skills to prepare for their future careers. And these events, nearly all of them free, are a lot of fun: Did you know that creating an invention, learning to code, or planting a garden builds employability skills?  Activities like learning how to fly a drone, market a product and help the community can all help build the foundation for future career pathways. 

Photo courtesy of Remake Learning Days.

As part of the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Career Ready PA initiative, these Remake Learning Days events also qualify for the Career Ready PA Backpack Challenge. Students who attend these events will earn a Career Ready PA Backpack Challenge badge and will help their school earn a Career Ready PA banner. (Ask your child’s teacher if their school has signed up for the Career Ready PA Backpack Challenge. If they haven’t, they can sign up right here.)  

Last year, thousands of families across Pennsylvania attended Career Ready PA events during Remake Learning Days. Kids got up close to everything from agriculture (200 eighth-graders visited Pennwood Farms in Berlin, Pa., to hear from folks working in all aspects of agriculture during Somerset County Ag Day) to video game design (at Schell Games’ Open House, students from across the Commonwealth peppered the founders of this Pennsylvania-based gaming company about their career paths), and much more.

Photo courtesy of Remake Learning Days.

Choosing Your Adventure

There are so many events for you and your child to choose from this year. Click here to search for the perfect in-person and virtual career-ready events for your family. Here are just a dozen of the 150+ events on tap this year:

  • April 30 (prior to the official start of Remake Learning Days), The Vanka Block Party: Discover and learn about the stunning murals of artist Maxo Vanka at St. Nicholas Croatian Church in Millvale. Rain or shine, all ages and abilities are welcome to join in this free, family-friendly event.
  • May 2 (prior to the official start of Remake Learning Days), The Science of Honey: Explore the process honey bees use to make honey, and learn about the science behind nature’s sweet treat during this free, virtual event designed for students ages 8-18 and their families.
  • May 4, Teen Time – LED Cloud Lamps: Teens and tweens (ages 11 to 18) are invited to work on this hands-on, creative project during this free gathering at the Carnegie Library, 130 S. Whitfield Street, Pittsburgh.
  • May 4, Youth Producers Meetup at the YMCA Lighthouse Project: Calling all songwriters, beatmakers, and mix engineers ages 16-22: come share your tracks, hear how they sound in a professional studio, get feedback from peers and professionals, eat snacks and meet other creative young music makers in Pittsburgh at this free event.
  • May 5, Remake Learning Day 2023 at the Pittsburgh Glass Center – Glass, Galaxies & Gases: Kids ages 5 through 18 can explore an exciting and out-of-this-world experience during this free workshop. Enjoy a galaxy of glass in the gallery and engage with local artists during live hot glass-making and electrifying gas demonstrations.
  • May 10, Lego Botany: Students age 14-18 can explore and build three types of plants in Lego form, learning about the structure and function of their flowers and leaves using the Legos as models. The biology of the plants will be discussed as the students piece together the models and explore the world of botany during this free event.
  • May 12 and May 19, Nature Weaving & Foraged Basket Weaving: Students from age 5 to age 18 are invited to the Children’s Museum for this free workshop to explore weaving with natural materials. Use sticks, vines, grasses and more as both warp and weft for weaving during the May 12 session and explore basket weaving using foraged natural materials on May 19. These classes are free with Children’s Museum admission (the Children’s Museum participates in Museums for All).
  • May 16, Kids Club – Bug Hotels: At the Carnegie Library on Federal Street, children in grades K-5 can create cozy outdoor habitats for local bugs while learning about why bugs are important to our ecosystem, what kinds of materials would attract certain bugs to our hotels, and famous entomologists (bug scientists!).
  • May 16, Streaming the Future: Join SLB Radio online and tune in to Streaming the Future, a live conversation hosted by teens, featuring youth-selected topics, music, conversation, and more. Learn about the goals, hopes, and visions teens have for the future of education, their communities, and their own lives during this free event.
  • May 17, How to Hydrate a Parched Spectre – the one and only visible and invisible XR Goldberg Machine that exists!: Immerse your family in a mixed reality Rube Golberg machine that leverages a sprawling array of technologies to tell a playful tale with help from the curious minds at Carnegie Mellon University and friends at partnering schools. Discover extravagant technological innovations and fantastic physical machines at this free event.
  • May 18, Family Craft Night at Center That CARES: Kids ages 5 through 13 and their families are invited to create art expressions with the CARES students at this free event. They will use markers, chalk, colored pencils, crayons and paint, creating art expressions and experiencing the different textures of the art.
  • May 20: Remake Learning with the Kre.a.div Kingz of Pittsburgh: All ages are welcome to create art with purpose with the new Black collective, the Kre.a.div Kingz. During this free event at the Frick Pittsburgh, visitors will see the Kingz’s artwork, create alongside them, and join in a conversation about the evolution of their careers and how they are using their experience to pave the way for young artists.

For more details about Remake Learning Days, check out our festival guide

And click here to read about last year’s statewide Career Ready events.