NIOST Conducting Survey to Support OST STEM Workforce

The National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) is conducting a survey that is aimed at supporting the OST STEM workforce.

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The survey poses questions on the topic of how afterschool and summer programs can best recruit, train, and retain out-of-school-time staff who offer STEM activities. It is being conducted by NIOST at Wellesley College with support from the Overdeck Family Foundation and in partnership with the National Afterschool Association.

The goal of the study is to inform program leaders and educators how to best obtain, prepare, and support staff to deliver high-quality STEM activities in out-of-school programs.

NIOST is calling on out-of-school-time program directors to take part in the survey, which takes about 20 minutes to complete. 

All data collected in the study is for research purposes only. Participants will not include their names when completing the survey.

Any questions should be directed to Georgia Hall, of Wellesley College, at 781-283-3499 or ghall@wellesley.edu. 

The study is available online.

Pittsburgh Offers Black History Month Activities for Children

While activities for adults to celebrate Black History Month can include everything from commemorative to cultural events, there are also a wide variety of activities for children that incorporate play, arts, and learning.

Events

The Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh will offer its second annual Black History Month Art Crawl from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 1. Contemporary artists will be stationed throughout the museum’s first floor who will create live portraits and artworks honoring Pittsburgh’s Black heroes. This year’s featured subjects will include Pittsburgh’s Freedom Corner, Kuntu Repertory Theater Founder Dr. Vernell Lillie, baseball player Josh Gibson (of the Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords), civil rights activist and performer Lena Horne, and many others.

The Carnegie Science Center will host several Black History Month-themed events, including a Story Time Under the Stars during which children can learn about Black STEM professionals while listening to science-themed stories under a starry sky.

Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures will host “Words & Pictures” featuring author Kelly Starling Lyons. Her latest book celebrates the 120th anniversary of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black National Anthem, and how it inspired five generations of a family. The talk will begin at 6 p.m. on Thursday, January 30 at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Main branch in Oakland.

The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Knoxville branch will host Kids Club: Taking Flight - African Americans in Aviation for children in kindergarten through fifth grade on Wednesday, February 5. The event will focus on three history makers: Bessie Coleman, David E. Harris, and Guion Bluford, all three of whom played a significant role in aviation and aerospace history.

The Carnegie Library has also put together a list of Teen Books for Black History Month 2025. The list includes everything from nonfiction to novels that fit in with the Black History Month theme.

The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, located on Main Street in Greensburg, will host a Black History Month Celebration on Sunday, February 9. The event will include art-making activities and performances honoring the month’s theme.

Crayola to Host ‘Imagination in Action’ in Late January

Crayola will host “Imagination in Action,” one of its biggest celebrations of the year, from late January through early February.

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The weeklong virtual event is designed to inspire and engage through:

• Celebrity appearances

• Hands-on activity videos

• Downloadable creative resources

• Daily giveaways

• An online gallery to showcase student artwork

Sessions

The event will hold one session per day for all seven days. The sessions include:

• Life Lessons (with actor Matthew McConaughey and illustrator Renee Kurilla): Monday, January 27

• Change & Collaboration (with actor Henry Winkler, author Lin Oliver, and illustrator Dan Santat): Tuesday, January 28

• Abstract Thinking (with children’s author, illustrator, and artist Mo Willems): Wednesday, January 29

• Confidence Soars (with author and actor Phillipa Soo, author Maris Pasquale Doran, and illustrator Qin Leng): Thursday, January 30

• Flows Like Water (with author and U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limon, illustrator Peter Sis and NASA scientists): Friday, January 31

• Bee-Lieve in Your Future (with author and entrepreneur Mikaila Ulmer): Saturday, February 1

• Conquer Fears (with author and actor Max Greenfield and illustrator James Serafino)

Registration for the event is now open.

Power Kids Website Offers Videos, Books on Various Topics

Children and their caregivers can do everything from watching videos and reading books to learning about a variety of topics through Power Kids, Pennsylvania’s electronic library.

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Power Kids is broken down into 12 e-resources that cover a variety of topics and formats. The electronic library enables children to access videos, books, information on how to be a safe and responsible citizen with eBooks, chat with a librarian, and resources that helps them to learn about everything from history to science.

The e-resources available on the Power Kids site include:

• BookFlix: children can watch videos and read books about animals, celebrations, nature, music, and other topics, some of which are also available in Spanish

• Britannica School for PreK-5: inspires learners to create, play, and explore, this tool offers nonfiction articles across various subjects

• Cricket Media Collection: includes hundreds of e-books that can help to build literacy skills in students from grades pre-K through eighth by offering digital access to short-form fiction and nonfiction

• Discover PA for Kids: provides state symbols, facts, and figures

• Elementary: provides information such topics as animals, arts, geography, health, literature, people, social studies, and technology

• True Flix: visitors can learn about people, places, nature, history, and science through e-books on topics such as American Indians, ancient civilizations, the Civil War, the U.S. government, and more

• KidSpeak - Chinese/Mandarin, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish/Castilian: learn words and phrases suitable for learners’ age, needs, and interests; includes more than 40 activities, puzzles, and songs

For more information on the various resources, visit the Power Kids website.

6x6 Assemble Show Seeks Art Submissions with ‘Play’ Theme

The 6x6 Assemble is seeking submissions from artists for its third annual show. This year’s theme is PLAY.

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Artists is called upon to think of how they play and create something. Creating a piece itself could be an act of play. Or, it could be a sport, video game reference, board game, pictorial hide and seek, or something you play with and touch. 

Play is how humans learn about their environments as children and is a critical element for confidence building, problem solving, imagination, stress management, and socialization.

Those interested in participating should fill out a form that should be dropped off to Assemble - located at 4824 Penn Avenue - by Friday, January 24.

Each piece in the show will be sold for $25. All ages are welcome to participate. All funds raised will go to support Assemble’s free STEAM programs, although pieces that don’t sell will be returned to the artists.

Pieces in the show should be no larger than 6”x”6x1’. Artists will be invited to a VIP reception on Thursday, February 6. Those interested should RSVP now. The public Unblurred Gallery Opening is from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, February 7.

City Launches Basketball Initiative as Part of Violence Prevention Commitment

Mayor Ed Gainey and My Brother’s Keeper Pittsburgh has launched a late-night basketball initiative for young adults between the ages of 18 and 26.

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The initiative, implemented in partnership with the Parks and Recreation Department’s CitiSports program, as part of the city's commitment to violence prevention.

The initiative aims to provide safe places where at-risk young adults can take part in constructive activities. The program will also discuss with youths how to find a path to improve their personal and professional growth.

During the nine-week program, participants will have access to resources and information about supportive services that are available. The kickoff will consist of participants gathering to meet REACH workers and Stop the Violence organizations.

Participants will play basketball and attend weekly skills and training development workshops before each game. Workshop focus areas will be workforce development, financial education, violence prevention, health and wellness resources, and educational attainment.

Regular season games will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays for six weeks at the South Side Market House. The first will be held on Tuesday, January 14 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. This will be followed by playoff games for three weeks towards the championship game and graduation from the initiative. 

“In this day and age, we recognize the importance of providing our young people with constructive outlets and activities, many of which graduate out of violence prevention programs due to age, and are left without many trusted safe spaces,” Gainey said.

Those interested in participating as a player, mentor, or coach can sign up online. Additional information on the program can be found on MBK Pittsburgh’s EngagePGH page.