What’s the best way to help your kids learn this spring and summer? Have fun learning alongside them. 

Researchers at the Global Family Research Project (GFRP) found that all children benefit from hands-on STEAM (science, tech, engineering, arts and maker) learning. But they benefit even more when parents and other caregivers learn alongside them. 

In fact, GFRP’s data suggests 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.

San Diego families will have plenty of opportunities for fun parent/child learning later this month, when the Remake Learning Days Across America (RLDAA) festival arrives in our region for the first time. From April 22 through May 23, parents and kids from preschool through high school will find hundreds of free, in-person and virtual learning events to enjoy together. 

Erin English, who is helping organize Remake Learning Days in our area, discovered the positive impact of this national event during a visit to Pittsburgh several years ago.

“I’ve known about Remake Learning and all the great work they’ve been doing for the past six years. I had the opportunity to go to Pittsburgh, where I saw all the Remake Learning emblems, and heard conversations happening everywhere. I saw what an amazing, centralizing theme it was throughout the region,” says English, Executive Director of Innovation for the San Diego County Office of Education.

San Diego was scheduled to host events last year before the COVID-19 pandemic forced a cancelation. This year, when families are more than ready to really enjoy fun learning experiences after a challenging year, San Diego will host about 25 local events and have access to hundreds of virtual events hosted in other Remake Learning Days regions.

The festival will highlight the great learning innovation work happening in San Diego,  English says, and will help local families  discover STEM and STEAM initiatives available in our region.

Alina Mitchell, Associate Director of Academic Innovation and technology at the Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education at the University of San Diego, says many community organizations that are doing “positive and innovative work” are participating in the festival this year. 

“Sometimes we feel that learning happens solely in the classroom, and Remake Learning Days is a nice way to not only involve the parents, but also invite the community to join in as well,” Mitchell says.

Because of the pandemic, many of the events in San Diego will be virtual. That presents an opportunity to showcase local learning innovations (we’re hearing that families in other parts of the country can’t wait for San Diego’s “Science of Tortillas” workshop) and it allows our students and families to explore events happening elsewhere. Both Mitchell and English have signed up for a virtual tour of Inventionland in Pittsburgh during Remake Learning Days.

They also hope Remake Learning Days will help San Diego educators prepare their students for 21st-century careers.

“How do we get our kids ahead of that next thing and make them employable or make them entrepreneurs of their own life, unless we give them opportunities to create and innovate?” English says. The first step is introducing them to innovations and new ideas that spark their interest.

She recalls visiting a technology firm in Pittsburgh that welcomed young people once a week to see the work being done there. “It was the very first time I put on VR (virtual reality) glasses,” English says. “If we had teachers and educators going through these businesses, they could see what our kids need to know to be prepared for the world.”

Some of the many events hosted by San Diego include:

• April 22: The Science of Tortillas, an online lesson that will describe the biology, chemistry and physics embedded in a single tortilla and the roles they each play.
• April 22 and 24: Tree Promise to plant, protect and honor 5 million trees by 2026. Girl Scouts will conduct a virtual training on how to plant trees, and participants will  go out the next day to plant trees in the community.
• May 6: Student Startup Showcase, where young entrepreneurs from the San Diego area share their student startups. Mentors and the audience will be able to offer suggestions, ask questions and help the students make connections.
• May 12: San Diego State University and Cal Poly Pomona’s virtual Femineer Summit is open to students grades 3-12. The event will showcase several creative or Pi robotics, and wearable technology projects, and include a Q&A session with inspirational female STEM leaders and industry partners.

Several organizations received grants of $250 to $500 from the Remake Learning Days organizers to help offset costs for materials and other expenses.

“I never felt I was on my own,” English says. “ReMake Learning is an amazing organization and they embraced us as if we are family and we are part of this bigger thing. We know that we are part of a national project, and building upon some great projects already being done.”

More information about Remake Learning Days Across America events in San Diego can be found at: https://remakelearningdays.org/sandiego/