Who knew manufacturing could be so cool?

Thanks to DVIRC's "What's So Cool About Manufacturing?" Contest, hundreds of students from Philadelphia area middle schools now know!

On April 8th, 2019, students, parents, educators, manufacturing leaders, community sponsors, local legislators, and project partners gathered at the Oaks Convention Center for an awards ceremony where students received awards for the best student-developed videos exploring manufacturing in the Philadelphia region. The "What's So Cool About Manufacturing?" contest gives middle-school students from schools in Bucks, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties the opportunity to learn about local manufacturers by visiting them to produce a documentary video that they can then present to students across the region in an educational and "cool" way.

This year, 26 teams from middle schools partnered with host manufacturers, and under the supervision of a teacher coach, toured the host manufacturer's facility to document employee interviews and explore the company's products and processes through the lens of a GoPro camera. They later edited their footage and translated what they found to be "cool" about that company into a short video.

This program is funded in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development's Manufacturing PA Training-to-Career program. Other major sponsors include the Bucks County Workforce Development Board, the Montgomery County Workforce Development Board, and Manufacturing Alliance of Bucks & Montgomery Counties.

The students from Neil Armstrong Middle School, Fairless Hills, Bucks County won first place exploring manufacturing with Macron Dynamics Inc, Croydon.

To learn more https://www.whatssocool.org.