Highmark Sportsworks — Attraction in Pittsburgh

Let’s get physical!

Highmark Sportsworks has always been the highlight of Carnegie Science Center with our kids.

Imagine becoming a human yo-yo! Visitors have the opportunity to swing high in the air, up and back down-and then up again by pulling on cable-tethered handles. Some make it all the way up and done don’t. One of the best things to do in this building, as obvious by the line that waits.

Use lasers to determine your Major League swing speed, and whether you could knock a ball out of PNC Park. My kids could spend forever in this cage trying to better their speed!

Remove and repair body parts linked to the ten most common sports injuries. An operation game bigger than yourself? Why wouldn’t you want to play?!

Learn CPR to the beat of the disco hit “Stayin’ Alive.” My son really focused on this one. Future EMT?

Wheelchair Racers gets the circulation in the arms going.

Jump to see how high you can dunk! How long can you hang? Test your endurance on the pull up bars.

This one really gets their heart rate going! Compare your time against that of Olympic silver medalist and local track star Lauryn Williams in Olympic Sprint. Race the machine or race someone else at the same time! Lots of physical activity on this one!

Test your reaction speed against an ice hockey goalie at Reaction Time Hockey. These green screens are always on my kids lists of fun things to do!

Motion lab was the most recent addition. Perform various sports-related activities while being recorded on a high-speed camera at about 200–250 frames per second. Once recorded, play back your footage, and compare your motions to a professional athlete! This teaches you how to improve your movement with science.

Other pieces here and there bringing lots of fun to all ages!

The rock wall has never been open when we have attended over the years which the kids are always bummed about. The overhead obstacle course that was once there has been removed which was also a great loss. I understand that things change, but adding some more over the top items would really beef up your rankings. The kids still had fun, but you could tell something was missing at Sportsworks.

Go to the Yo-yo when you see the line a little shorter or you may never get on. Time is a killer on this one.

Wheelchair accessibility to the building and a ramp that takes you down. Wheelchair accessible parking outside and restrooms.

Still a great addition to your Carnegie Science Center admission! Be sure to...

our kids has fun, there is a ton to learn, i love the fact they have a area designed for babies who are just learning to walk/crawling. not alot of places have that type of thing. and when you have a 11 month old who also wants down to play but there is bigger kids running around this type if area is so special and thoughtful! unfortunately alot of parents let their older kids run in there making it dangerous for the little ones. but I will say when the staff caught it they would kick them nicely out of that area and I so appreciated the fact they did that!

Ours kids favorite part was the submarine tour which was really well done staff had every answer to every question. and then the 4th floor play area along with all the energy tables and the human body tables. they had such a blast.

I will say there is alot of reading so in some ways its a bit better for older kids. BUT there was also enough to do that our 9 yr old, toddler, and 11 month old all seem to have alot of fun!

I was a tad disappointed in the sports building though that's why I'm going to do 4 stars. and that's still hardly deserve 4. but alot of things were out of order, rock wall was the biggest thing my child wanted and it was not open. they also don't have as many things to do in there as they did years ago when I went, and part of that truly may have been to so many things being out of order or closed. luckily that build comes with general ticket admission so I can't say it wasted our money. but we only spent like maybe 10 mins in there and then our kids wanted to go back in the main building. the main building also had a few things no longer working I'd love to see them be able to get some of that fixed and working properly again. it's such a great...

The ropes course at the Highmark Sports work was such a let down. We had and 8 and 9 year old girl with us and were in line for over an hour waiting to do the course. It looked cool. After an hour the girls wanted to give up since they were missing out on all the other activities. We were guaranteed going on the course before closing, but it was going to take all the time left and we couldn't stand there for another hour and a half. They let groups of what appeared to be 10 people go at a time and there was a 10-15 minute time limit where you can go where ever you want. Then they cleared everyone off and it took another 5-10 minutes to move the adults/kids that were afraid to even be up there. So 20-30 minutes per group and you don't move in line at all. The course should be set up to go through each section, and as one person finished another can go on to keep the line moving. I'm sure they set it up the way it is for a reason, but i wouldn't waste my time on it again. Maybe if you're lucky enough to get there first thing in the morning it would work. But a waste of a...