This article first appeared in Kidsburgh.org, a media partner of NEXTpittsburgh that focuses on making Pittsburgh a better place to raise kids.
Noelle Conover never dreamed that the nonprofit she and her husband started in memory of their young son Matt would grow so phenomenally in just three years. Now, the number of Matt’s Maker Space locations is approaching 30, including three new spaces that represent “firsts.”
The pandemic was a good time to raise money and build locations, says Conover, including two underway at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital — Nos. 28 and 29, in the inpatient and outpatient units, which will be the first maker spaces in a mental health facility. And the 30th location is planned for Comer Children’s Hospital in Chicago, which will be the first location outside Pennsylvania when the contract is finalized.
“What’s exciting about…