The Remake Learning Days festival returns to Doncaster from May 22 through May 31, bringing nearly 200 hands-on learning events to local families and connecting the Doncaster region with the global Remake Learning Days movement. Nearly all of the events are free and others are low-cost to make the festival accessible to all.
Founded a decade ago in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Remake Learning Days festival welcomes children and their caregivers to learn side-by-side, helping them find joy in art, science, math, outdoor learning and events that celebrate youth voice. Though Pittsburgh remains its home, the festival is now celebrated throughout the United States and in Uruguay and New Zealand, as well as in Doncaster.
Sean Fearn, who now serves as lead organizer of the festival in Doncaster, first experienced Remake Learning Days when he attended an event in 2023. That was the inaugural year for Remake Learning Days in Doncaster.
“I’ve got a little boy and I took him to one of the Remake Learning events and we loved it,” Fearn says. “It was a music activity, and we both got to play the instruments together. We had that bond, and we learned. And I just wanted more.”
That inspired Fearn to take on the job of running the festival in Doncaster and he’s worked to grow the celebration each year.
“One of the main things that we want to do in Doncaster is create this lifelong learning ecosystem, so people of all ages can then come together and learn, no matter in what format,” he says. “Being able to put all these different events in every single locality across Doncaster is really inspiring for us, because we know that we’re making it as accessible, and as inclusive, as possible for all people of all ages.”
Among the events planned for this year:
- Doncaster Festival of Making, May 26-June 1: The organization Right Up Our Street has invited French architect Olivier Grossetête to Doncaster to help local families build a to-scale model of the Corn Exchange. Visitors of all ages will build sections of the model each day, culminating in a full scale assembly of the model. Once the festival has ended, families can also help dismantle the model and recycle the materials for future projects.
- Remake Learning Rail, May 27: This event hosted by several UK rail companies who will share hands-on STEM activities with children and their families. This fun day of STEM learning can also inspire curiosity into a career pathway, because many of the activities are related to rail careers: Visitors will learn about the many roles and careers that they can pursue within the rail industry, whether they are interested in working on the railway lines themselves, railway bridges, working with the British Transport police or doing many other transit-related jobs.
- How to Be an Inventor!, May 28: The folks from Kids Invent Stuff will host an invention workshop where children and their families can share drawings of things they’d like to invent at this free drop-in workshop. They’ll also get to see prototypes of many inventions that other children have drawn before, including toilet roll blasters and the biggest toothbrush in the world. “The children will get a chance to see some of these inventions, and then get to draw and share their own inventions with the team.”
Families can search here for more in-person and virtual events.
Fearn sees in Doncaster “a passion for learning in informal ways” and he’s excited to bring even more informal learning experiences to families this month.
“Learning happens everywhere,” he says, “and that’s something we want to inspire people and make accessible for everyone.”