{"id":158761,"date":"2026-04-06T19:36:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/158761\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T19:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T19:36:16","slug":"these-3-moonshot-projects-are-equipping-pittsburgh-youth-with-tools-to-create-their-own-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/158761\/","title":{"rendered":"These 3 Moonshot projects are equipping Pittsburgh youth with tools to create their own future"},"content":{"rendered":"

What kinds of programs can give students the tools they need to lead? What kinds of real-world learning experiences will boost student agency in meaningful ways?<\/p>\n

Last year, Remake Learning awarded Moonshot Grants to three programs thinking boldly about these questions. In creative ways, each one helps students to deconstruct and make use of aspects of the world around them.<\/p>\n

These programs grew from different inspirations, but all three create space for young voices to grow while offering students mentorship and structure.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemake Learning is proud to award Moonshot Grants to these innovative projects that will help students build their confidence, learn practical skills, and develop their leadership abilities in challenging real-world situations,\u201d says Tyler Samstag, executive director at Remake Learning.<\/p>\n

TELLING THEIR OWN STORIES<\/p>\n

Social media posts, TV episodes, classroom conversations \u2014 in these places and many more, immigrant and refugee students hear messages about who they are and who they\u2019re allowed to be.<\/p>\n

In Pittsburgh, a group of these young people are exploring and challenging the narratives that swirl around them, thanks to a Moonshot-funded program run by the nonprofit\u00a0ARYSE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh, program managers at ARYSE have spent much of the past year helping these students step back and ask: What are these stories telling me about myself and my community? How can I reject what\u2019s untrue and accurately tell the real story of my lived experience?<\/p>\n

Like so many Moonshot projects, this one was born from an \u201caha\u201d moment.<\/p>\n

Erica Hughes, program manager of the Girls Art and Maker Group at ARYSE, was working on her Master\u2019s in library science at the University of Pittsburgh when she \u201csaw this real connection between what I was learning about how we get information to the public through public libraries \u2014 the duty of a librarian in these spaces \u2014 and what we are trying to do at ARYSE in getting information to young people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with exploring how students can deconstruct and react to stories they\u2019re told, Hughes says, \u201cthere is that piece of storytelling: How do the students represent their stories to people in the classroom, to people in their neighborhood? How are these different stories being shared with people and how, sometimes, are they used to maybe promote a certain narrative?\u201d<\/p>\n

During summer-camp days and after-school sessions, the students have drilled down into these questions.<\/p>\n

At times, they\u2019ve focused on migration: How are the stories of Black American migration similar to the stories of refugees? What is a counter-story about who these people are and the challenges they\u2019ve faced? And what aspects of their story aren\u2019t usually taught in history classes?<\/p>\n

Students also looked at education: Is public school really a leveling experience where everyone gets the same resources and opportunities? The ARYSE team made space for critical conversations with students and showed different media that explored this question.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of them are really honest about their experiences in school, and how it\u2019s not what they might be told it\u2019s supposed to be,\u201d Hughes says.<\/p>\n

This is where research skills come in, Hughes says: How can students find the information they need to be critical of these systems?<\/p>\n

The ARYSE team has seen young people embrace their growing skills.<\/p>\n

Several months ago, one young woman began grappling with the messages city kids often hear about nature \u2014 that it\u2019s something entirely separate and inaccessible, hidden away from their daily lives. With a growing capacity to deconstruct narratives and document conflicting perspectives, she created a photo exhibit called \u201cHidden in Plain Sight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe went around and took photos of little plants poking up through concrete or out of an alleyway,\u201d Hughes says. \u201cThat moment where she was standing in front of all of us staff and talking about what this means to her \u2014 what she was inspired to do \u2014 was just such a revelation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a>Photos by Ben Filio for Remake Learning.<\/p>\n

GRAPPLING WITH GAME DESIGN<\/p>\n

With help from a previous Moonshot Grant, the Village Games+ program at\u00a0Homewood Children\u2019s Village<\/a>\u00a0has been helping kids design and build their own educational board games since 2024.<\/p>\n

In the first phase, a group of elementary schoolers were mentored by high schoolers to explore what makes a game work well and what kinds of game-playing could effectively teach literacy skills.<\/p>\n

In collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University\u2019s\u00a0Entertainment Technology Center<\/a>\u00a0and the University of Pittsburgh\u2019s\u00a0Digital Narrative and Interactive Design<\/a>\u00a0program, this led to three prototype board games that were originally sketched by hand, with playing pieces drawn on paper.<\/p>\n

During their latest Moonshot Grant, the focus has remained on analog gaming and bringing students\u2019 own ideas to life. But these young people have begun leveraging digital technology to bring their ideas more fully to fruition.<\/p>\n

Using a laser cutter and 3D printer, the students (which now include middle-schoolers) have fabricated professional-looking game boards, playing pieces and cards. And though hand-drawn characters are sometimes printed directly onto game pieces, the students have also begun exploring the possibilities \u2014 and pitfalls \u2014 of using AI to bring their creations to life.<\/p>\n

Throughout last summer and during afterschool sessions this school year, students used AI to build on their ideas for game characters and playing piece designs.<\/p>\n

In the process, they are learning to use technology that will likely shape their future careers, says the program\u2019s director Benjamin Walker. They are also discovering the limitations and baked-in biases of today\u2019s AI tools.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a>Photos by Ben Filio for Remake Learning.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, a student would share an idea with AI and ask for suggestions, \u201cbut they felt like \u2018what I came up with was better,\u201d Walker says. \u201cWhat they\u2019ve learned is that it takes time to learn the best way to prompt and you have to learn a particular generative AI software well enough to see what will get it there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also, he says: \u201cThey learned that sometimes the data set for what you\u2019re trying to do is so limited that that particular generative AI may not be the system for you \u2013 specifically with Black culture and Black imagery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just one example: Students found that \u201cthe word \u2018grandma\u2019 triggers a European aesthetic of a grandma, unless you say \u2018an ethnic, diverse grandma,\u2019\u201d Walker says. That sparked meaningful discussions about AI among the students.<\/p>\n

Walker and his team have seen students at all grade levels grow during this program. He points out that while some students may pursue careers in game design or other STEM fields, the entire group is becoming skilled at using a range of technologies and thinking critically about the roles these technologies can play.<\/p>\n

Along with understanding game design, they are becoming problem-solvers who embrace each other\u2019s outside-of-the-box ideas and experiments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing these \u2018aha\u2019 moments and participants really get into playing, thinking through and creating,\u201d he says. \u201cThey have ideas like, \u2018What if we did this? What if we did that?\u2019 and thinking through how that will work, and then trying it out, and then realizing, \u2018Ok, not quite. But if we took it this way, then it works.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The adults on the team have also learned new ways of collaborating and iterating.<\/p>\n

Now, Walker says, when a student comes up with an unorthodox inspiration for a new game, \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018You want to bring that game in as an inspiration for this? OK, so how would you do that?\u2019 Instead of saying, \u2018Nah, that ain\u2019t going to work,\u2019 we can be like, \u2018Yeah, and\u2026?\u2019 So seeing that and using that principle of \u2018yes, and\u2026\u2019 is really just enlightening.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"world\"world<\/a>Photos by Ben Filio for Remake Learning.<\/p>\n

LEADING THE WAY TOGETHER<\/p>\n

Like Homewood Children\u2019s Village, the\u00a0World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh<\/a>\u00a0is on its second round of Moonshot funding. Their project also uses game design to help students explore larger questions and teach others what they know.<\/p>\n

The goal, though, is hitting the reset button on youth-adult power dynamics by empowering young people to work with organizations seeking to reshape how adults and youth collaborate.<\/p>\n

The first phase involved high schoolers designing \u201ca training about how to authentically include youth in decision-making spaces,\u201d says Kathleen Newell, education program manager at the World Affairs Council.<\/p>\n

More recently, that training has come to include student-made simulation games.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the key, Newell says: The games \u201clook at how we participate in systems and how we are taught to make decisions in different systems, based on what we know or what we value.\u201d<\/p>\n

This approach \u201creally helps to remove any personalization or critique of anyone\u2019s work,\u201d she says, because participants aren\u2019t having their own current systems examined.<\/p>\n

The student-created game opens the door to thinking and talking about systems. \u201cThat really helps folks to then connect to their own context and work, as the discussion and the workshop continues,\u201d Newell says.<\/p>\n

The teens have been busy \u201cworking to iterate on that game and continue to refine it, but also to think about how we can be using game design and creating new games that allow these same conversations to be fostered.\u201d<\/p>\n

This happens through a mix of in-person and virtual gatherings, to accommodate teens from around the Pittsburgh region. Students have also been connecting with peers and educators across the state of Pennsylvania and nationally, along with\u00a0speaking at conferences including SXSW EDU<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"world\"world<\/a>Photos by Ben Filio for Remake Learning.<\/p>\n

These teens are also getting a range of professional development to help them navigate adult spaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cYoung people have so much to offer, just based on the skills and leadership and their lived experiences coming into these spaces,\u201d Newell says. \u201cBut we also know that coming into different rooms with adult audiences, there are skills that aren\u2019t often taught in school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the most eye-opening moments:\u00a0City Theater<\/a>\u00a0hosted a workshop on storytelling and dialogue facilitation where students learned to remove themselves from a discussion and just facilitate understanding.<\/p>\n

Students experienced the difference between presenting their knowledge of a subject versus facilitating a dialogue about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were like, \u2018We never get graded on this at school. We\u2019re always graded on what we know and how we can make our case,\u2019\u201d Newell says. \u201cIt was almost an uncomfortable process for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Too often, \u201cwe\u2019re not teaching our students how to be in a conversation that\u2019s just fostering understanding,\u201d she says. \u201cHow do we keep building dialogue facilitation skills \u2014 these skills about building understanding and learning how to reposition ourselves in these conversations?\u201d<\/p>\n

As these students share their new skills, they\u2019re seeing the impact their work can have. While hosting a peer-to-peer training at Camp Global Minds last summer, the teens inspired a school group from Alabama to bring this work to their school.<\/p>\n

Because of the Moonshot Grant, \u201cwe\u2019ve been able to give each of our Global Minds chapters physical game boards to use to start these conversations within their own context,\u201d Newell says. So the Alabama teens headed home with their game board, and with help from a teacher they approached their school\u2019s administration about hosting a workshop.<\/p>\n

As this school year was beginning, teacher orientation in their community included intentional discussions about youth-adult partnership.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just really cool to see the multiplying effect of this work, and that students and adults can really carry this forward,\u201d Newell says. \u201cThe sustainability piece is really exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connecting and communicating. Reaching out to achieve authentic understanding. Iterating in search of better outcomes. These methods and goals are threaded through all three of these Moonshot-funded projects.<\/p>\n

Newell appreciates that these ideas are also embedded in the Moonshot experience itself. The Moonshot team encourages bold efforts and learning from failure in pursuit of a preferred future.<\/p>\n

Members of the cohort get inspired by one another, and eye-opening failures are celebrated along with successes. When things don\u2019t go according to plan, \u201cwe\u2019re all learning from that and doing something different moving forward,\u201d she says. \u201cIt has been such a rare opportunity to have funding that allows us to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What kinds of programs can give students the tools they need to lead? What kinds of real-world learning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":158762,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[71873,7933,71874,71872,71875,73,75,74,28560,2553],"class_list":{"0":"post-158761","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh","8":"tag-aryse","9":"tag-carnegie-mellon-university","10":"tag-entertainment-technology-center","11":"tag-homewood-childrens-village","12":"tag-moonshot-grants","13":"tag-pittsburgh","14":"tag-pittsburgh-headlines","15":"tag-pittsburgh-news","16":"tag-remake-learning","17":"tag-university-of-pittsburgh"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158761\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}