Have you ever thought about about going to Downtown Pittsburgh but couldn’t find anything to do that doesn’t involve sports? Following is a compilation of ten art related and remarkable activities in Pittsburgh.

Randyland

Pittsburgh is the perfect place to enjoy a picturesque location. It contains many beautiful photography hotspots, one being the well known Randyland.  Freshman Alyssa Bruce said, “I like the atmosphere and everyone there seemed really nice.” Randyland is a colorful yard-turned-park that uses different colors and shapes to celebrate creativity and individuality. This charming spot in the Northside of Pittsburgh has many different pieces of unique art and lots of exciting scenery to take great photos of or to just look at.

Phipps Conservatory

Another site in Pittsburgh with great photo spots is the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. This attraction showcases the beauty of nature with 15 acres of indoor and outdoor gardens, flowers, and shows. Olivia Mensch, sophomore, visited the attraction with her family recently, and she said it was, “A great place to see rare butterflies and flowers.”

Duquesne Incline

To enjoy a location unique to Pittsburgh,go to the Duquesne Incline. This is a historic renovated cable car that takes riders up the side of Mt. Washington for a view described as “outstanding and one of a kind,” by Sarah Koehler, sophomore. This is a historical landmark of Pittsburgh because it has been in operation since 1877, and before it was a popular tourist spot, it was used to carry cargo up and down the mountain.

Three Rivers Arts Festival

For ten days in early June, the Three Rivers Arts Festival takes place annually. It is an outdoor festival with musical performances, and vendors selling food, services, or handcrafted art pieces. It is a great place to enjoy excellent food, music and celebrate the arts. For younger kids, or just people trying to get creative, there are always little crafts to do throughout the festival. Giant Eagle has a Creativity Zone at Point State Park and Gateway Center that helps kids get in touch with their creative side and do crafts that they can either leave there to show off or bring home. “It was a good time for a ten year old. I remember you could do cool art stuff with vendors, I got to make a painting with a marble and I remember being really excited about it!” Margaret Fenton, sophomore, says.

Carnegie Science Center

The Carnegie Science Center is another great place in the heart of Pittsburgh right on the Ohio River. It is an amusing place to enjoy childhood memories and make new ones. This interactive museum provides  a fun setting for all ages to learn more about science and how it affects our world. Mr. Zavacky, a 10th grade chemistry teacher, went here with his kids and said, “The laser show was cool, along with the droids and robots exhibit.”

Cathedral of Learning

A great place to look at exquisite architecture is at the Cathedral of Learning, located in the center of the University of Pittsburgh campus. This beautiful gothic style building has many modern classrooms for students, and the Nationality Rooms on the bottom floors. The Nationality Rooms represent what a classroom would look like to various ethnic groups around the world. Hailey Wachowiak, 10th grader, says, “[The Nationality Rooms] were very fun and my tour guide was entertaining. I like history and culture so it was fun to learn more.”

The Mattress Factory Museum

To enjoy alluring modern art in the city, the Mattress factory Museum is a great location. This art museum was converted from an old mattress factory, hence the name, and now has many open rooms with large art exhibits. Some the these are full rooms turned into works of art to appeal to everyone, even if visual art does not usually interest you. “I thought the art was really interesting and it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. The art was is very unique, but sophisticated”, says 10th grader Vennila Ramasubramanian.

Pittsburgh Speaker Series at Heinz Hall

The Pittsburgh Speaker series at Heinz Hall is a series of seven well-known politicians, journalists, authors, and more that present to the public about their expertise. These are great way to expand your knowledge and challenge your brain. In 2017, the presenters was David Cameron, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Jeffrey Toobin, Supreme Court Expert and Esteemed Legal Analyst, Jane Pauley, Television Journalist and Author, and in January of 2018, Robin Wright, Middle-East Expert. Coming up this year is Rick Steves, author, television host, and European travel guide, Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, and Mark Kelly and Gabby Giffords, an astronaut and former congresswoman. Mr Hull, English teacher, who has been to the speaker series many a times has said that “It’s good brain food and something fun and different to do for a date night!”

Andy Warhol Museum

Wanting to enjoy art, but are too lazy to make it? Then the Andy Warhol Art Museum is the place to go! The Andy Warhol Museum has lots of interesting, famous paintings such as the Campbell’s Soup Cans and Marilyn Diptych. There is even opportunities throughout the museum to make art using famous Warhol techniques. Coming up on March 16 from 5-10 pm, the museum is hosting a party type get together called “Youth Invasion 2018: Stay Woke”. This program is if for teens to express their take on Andy Warhol’s artwork through theater, galleries, and music!

Pittsburgh Center for the Arts

One of NAI’s art teachers, Mr Bockoven, enjoys the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts as a downtown activity. This is a place for everyone to enjoy exquisite art pieces, or even work on their own art skills. PCA is a non-profit community organization that offers educational art courses for kids and adults. Some of the art pieces are displayed in the museum portion to showcase the wonderful talent of local artists. The exhibitions change frequently to ensure that visitors can enjoy it over and over!