This year’s South Central Pennsylvania Remake Learning Days Festival is truly a reflection of the community’s hard work. After collaborating with other regions last year, the festival will premiere for the first time as its own regional festival with about 50 events covering seven counties in the South Central area.

“A lot of the events are within schools and libraries,” said Sarah Brambley, co-regional leader of IU8. “We have a great event at the Flight 93 National Park. We have pollinators talking about invasive species. We will have raised bed gardens and STEM camps. We have a lot happening in our area and we’re just excited to see it all come together.”

The region’s festival, running from May 12 through May 23, was organized with the help of a number of partners, including local community members and the folks at IU12, as well as the national Remake Learning Days team. It’s been a great opportunity to connect with local educators and those who are focused on child development.

“This has been very eye-opening to see what is out in the community,” said Brenda Calhoun, co-regional leader of IU8. “We’re excited to help them elevate the work that they are doing through the lens of Remake Learning Days.”

Schools in the area are opening their doors, some for the first time since COVID-19, to house a number of events. After more than a year of masking, vaccinations and other regulations, these fun learning events offer a positive connection with the families as they are welcomed back into the school buildings with their children.

One goal: to encourage family-engaged learning.

“If kids see their parents learning, they will want to learn,” said Brambley. “I think it’s so important for kids to see their parents learning. But it’s just as important for parents to see the kids are learning, and to have an interest in what the students are learning.”

The festival organizers hope to rebuild the disconnect that may have happened between parents and their child’s learning in school during the pandemic.

“For the first couple of months back in 2022, all they [parents] did was help their child learn,” said Calhoun. “But, that wasn’t the right environment to build anything. We’re kind of progressing the parents or caregivers to see what’s happening in their education in general.”

5 Events to Look Forward to in South Central Pennsylvania this May 12-23

1. 5/11- Exploring Our 5 Senses: Explore the five senses with hands-on educational and fun activities through five different stations at Carrolltown Public Library.
2. 5/12- Early Childhood STEM and CS Night: Join your student as they work their way through several STEM and computer science challenge stations at Lincoln IU12.
3. 5/14- Pollinator Party: Learn how pollinators helped re-establish woodland wildlife habitats and cultivated a living memorial at Flight 93 National Memorial.
4. 5/21- STEM Rocks: Code robots, engineer new masterpieces, play games and more at this STEM camp in Shawnee State Park.
5. 5/21- PAWS to READ: Read to pets from the Central Pennsylvania Humane Society and create a blanket for an animal in need at the Hollidaysburg Area Public Library.

Many of the events in South Central’s festival focus on creating STEAM pathways for students and families. By exposing children to STEAM pathways at a young age, these students can discover potential careers and build the skills to succeed.

“This year we are doing the Career Backpack challenge,” Brambley said, “which helps connect students with careers that maybe they didn’t know were in their neighborhood.”