HundrED Spotlight on Pittsburgh - MAKESHOP

This post was written in partnership with The Motherhood and sponsored by The Grable Foundation. Photos courtesy of Remake Learning and Ben Filio. 

Do you love where you live? I definitely do! Pittsburgh is a wonderful place to raise a family! Did you know Pittsburgh is a world leader in learning and education innovation?

We might not have the best weather in the world, but there are so many amazing things that makes Pittsburgh an ideal place to raise children. Pittsburgh has some of the best museums, hospitals, universities, libraries, and schools. In fact, Pittsburgh had the honor of being selected for HundreED's first spotlight in North America! 

HundrED is a global orgnization, which is based in Finland, that aims to research and share education innovations around the world. This year, HundrED has been collaborating with The Grable Foundation and Remake Learning to highlight the unique educational innovations coming out of the Pittsburgh region. Pittsburgh was selected because of the education innovation happening here. HundrED selected 12 Pittsburgh area programs to spotlight, and will be sharing the most inspiring models and ideas in K-12 education with their international audience.

Why was Pittsburgh selected as the first HundrED spotlight? The answer is simple! Pittsburgh is one of the best places for education innovation! Educators in the Pittsburgh area have been coming up with so many innovations that have the potential to help kids thrive.

Pittsburgh became a leader in learning and education innovation throughout the world, thanks to the growth of Remake Learning over the years. Remake Learning is a regional network of over 600 schools, libraries, museums, and other learning sites that provide engaging learning practices for young people who are experiencing rapid social and technological change.

HundrED Spotlights are collaborations between HundrED and local organizations. These collaborations focus on a location or theme to research educational innovations, so they can share the impact these innovations can have on young learners. Spotlights thoroughly explore these locations and themes, so they can share the most inspiring educational innovations with the world!

Pittsburgh has the honor of being the first city in North America selected as a Spotlight! 12 Pittsburgh area programs were selected from 82 submissions to spotlight and share as models for education innovation around the globe.

One of the innovations chosen is MAKESHOP! MAKESHOP is a permanent exhibit at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh. Families can make and design things in this research-based learning environment using real items that professional builders, artists, and programmers actually use. Kids can become creators through play!

Some of the fun features in MAKESHOP are a weaving loom, cardboard to build with, and stop-motion animations. While families play, the museum educators are observing how they use the materials, investigating strategies so they can better support learning, and perfecting the practice of maker education.

My family has actually been to the MAKESHOP, and my kids LOVE it! We are big fans of learning through play, and my older kids love to create things. They love the entire Children's Museum of Pittsbugh, but they could easily spend hours in the MAKESHOP!

In the words of Rebecca Grabman, who his the MAKESHOP manager, "When kids are making, they’re learning about how their environment is constructed, and how they can be agents in that construction—they’re capable of changing their environment. We give them the tools and the encouragement to make that change.”

MAKESHOP is an incredible education innovation for Pittsburgh! In November, the 12 Pittsburgh programs that were selected will travel to Finland to present their education innovations at the annual HundrED Global Innovation Summit. Way to go, Pittsburgh! I love my city, and I'm proud to say I'm from Pittsburgh!

To learn more about these incredible innovations, visit https://hundred.org/en/collections/pittsburgh!