The team organizing Remake Learning Days in Kansas City has more than 75 events planned for their second annual festival, and they hope to grow that number to 100 events by the start date on May 6. Within that growing number of events, Kansas City has several new neighborhood-centric events planned around the city.
“Starting last year in the pandemic, we had a lot of virtual events,” said Callen Zind, producer of Remake Learning Day Kansas City and KC STEM Alliance strategic communications consultant. “So this year, we’re looking forward to hosting so many more in-person options for families to get out and reengage in learning in different ways all around our city.”
Neighborhood leaders have organized events in three different parts of the city:
- In the Westside neighborhood, the Remake Learning Days event will focus on environmental activities such as talking to beekeepers, connecting with local orchards and more. The event will also feature related books in an exhibit at the local library so families can continue learning after the event.
- In the Historic Northeast area, the Kansas City Public Library has organized a series of events that include a DIY slime lab, flight explorations at Concourse Park, a celebration of Mexican art at a local gallery and more.
- In Kansas City’s North Blue Ridge neighborhood, young people can explore a full week’s worth of hands-on learning at their neighborhood urban garden. Activities range from painting with acrylics, flower arranging and cooking to rocket making and learning about heating and cooling. The festivities will conclude with a farm-to-table dinner.
The learning doesn’t stop there for Kansas City. Other events include a KC STEM Alliance-organized event for girls and their families to explore STEAM through activities provided by Make 48, a national television show with roots in KC, and corporate partners like Garmin and Burns & McDonnell. The event also will include activities coordinated by The DeBruce Foundation to help young people recognize their abilities, natural interests and skills. These agility tests and games will help young people discover career pathways that could be right for them. The same day, several events will take place at the nearby nature center.
When asked what she was most excited about, Zind replied: “Well, that’s like asking somebody which is their favorite child. I think the thing that makes me most excited is watching some new partnerships come together and the creative events that result.”
A significant number of the partnership events during the festival will help students and families create new STEAM pathways. Partners from last year’s festival are bringing back take-home kits that were popular last year. The kits make an origami-like microscope for kids to use in different projects throughout the festival and beyond.
5 Events to look forward to during Remake Learning Days Kansas City this May 6-16:
- 5/10- Fun with Green Screen: Children can learn how to use special effects with chroma key technology.
- 5/7- What’s in the Water? Exploring Parkwood Stream: Discover the vital connections of healthy streams and wildlife, view water close-up, and test water.
- 5/6-Make a mini light-up saber: Kids will learn how to fuse engineering and electronics to craft mini light-up sabers.
- 5/7- Girls in STEM: Why walk when you can fly?: Learn about women in STEM and flight while exploring your agilities and testing your engineering skills.
- 5/7- Explore Makefully Play Lab + Meet and Start at Zero: Children and their families can explore the open house where games and apps are developed.
Across the nation, the Remake Learning Days festival is all about giving students and their parents opportunities to learn together. Kansas City’s organizers are excited to provide plenty of those opportunities this year.
“If you’ve ever had the chance to see a kid when they have tried something new and had fun with it, that moment when they show their parent what they can do, or vice versa, is so exciting,” Zind said. “Remake Learning Days give us the opportunity to purposely create the environment for those exchanges to happen.”