Welcome to the Clayground, one of many new places to play in Pittsburgh

You just might notice more people playing in Pittsburgh, thanks to $1.5 million in grant funding designed to promote playing. A bicycle-powered potter’s wheel is one example: People are having fun by creating ceramics from scratch, while someone else cycles to make the wheel spin.

MCG Youth came up with this creative project, called “Clayground.”

The Clayground is one of many grant projects funded through the “Let’s Play PGH” effort, funded by the Grable and Hillman foundations through Remake Learning.

“We challenged organizations to think about how you could design and build installations that could promote playful learning,” explains Remake Learning’s executive director, Tyler Samstag.

MCG Youth Executive Director Justin Mazzei says his organization developed the “Clayground” to turn the experience of creating pottery from a solitary pursuit to a group event.

They asked, he says: How can we create fun engagements that now take two people or takes a community of people to create pots, fire pots and build relationships using the power of pottery?

Along with the “Clayground,” the Pittsburgh region now has many other experiences inviting you to play. These projects include “Pop-up Pinball,” the “Discovery Tree” at the Frick Environmental Center, and a sensory garden called “Sniff, Splash, Boom.”

To find a new place to play, click right here. 

Clayground photos by Ben Filio for Remake Learning.