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Bethlehem team wins statewide ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing’ contest

A team of Bethlehem Middle School Students has taken home first place in this year’s “Best of PA Statewide Awards Event for What’s So Cool About Manufacturing.

Northeast Middle School, which is in the Bethlehem Area School District partnered with Stanley Black & Decker to create a video explaining the work that the manufacturer performs and to help get young people interested in careers in manufacturing.

The fifth annual statewide event was held over the weekend in Harrisburg with 22 student teams competing from throughout the state.

A four-judge panel viewed the 22 entries, representing 11 regional contests across Pennsylvania and a total of 150 student videos, to select the statewide award recipients.

Second Place went to Boyertown Middle School West in Boyertown Area School District in Berks County, which worked on a video featuring R.M. Palmer Company.

Third Place went to Conrad Weiser Middle School in Berks County, which worked with John F. Martin & Sons, LLC.

There was also a Viewers Choice Award, which went to Butler Area Team 2 in Butler County. Its video featured JSP International. It was recognized for garnering the largest number of regional vote totals across the state, during three days of online voting where all Pennsylvania teams competed.

“The continued success of the What’s So Cool program validates its effort to generate excitement toward manufacturing career pathways and promote STEM and CTE education statewide and nationwide,” said Karen Buck, director of workforce initiatives for the Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC). “We are so excited and proud to celebrate the Best of PA 2023 student teams and highlight their videos!”

The “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” Student Video Contest, which originated in the Lehigh Valley and is the brainchild of MRC, has garnered over 4 million combined votes by the public during regional online voting dates since its inception in 2013

More than 60% of the school districts in Pennsylvania have participated in the program.

The 2023 participating regional contests in Pennsylvania included 150 middle school teams from Bedford County, Berks Schuylkill, Central Susquehanna, Chester Delaware, Lehigh Valley, North Central, Northern Tier, Philadelphia Region, Pittsburgh Central, Pittsburgh East, and South Central.

Statewide ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing’ contest set

It’s getting close to the final tally to find out “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” in the state of Pennsylvania.

The statewide awards ceremony, which is the culmination of all of the regional “What’s So cool About Manufacturing” events throughout the state will be held at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg May 15.

The competition pairs teams of middle school students with manufacturers around the state to produce videos explaining what the manufacturer does with a theme of “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?”

The idea behind the event was to get young people interested in a career in manufacturing at a time when many employers in manufacturing are having a difficult time finding skilled employees.

The first contest was organized and held in the Lehigh Valley, but the idea has since spread throughout the entire state, which led to the creation of the statewide event.

The event will be held from noon until 1:30 p.m. and will feature students, teachers, manufacturers and elected officials.

‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing’ winners announced

The Outstanding Overall Program award went to Lower Macungie Middle School, which profiled B. Braun Medical Inc. –

The Manufacturers Resource Center has announced the winners of this year’s “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” Lehigh Valley Student Video Contest awards.

A total of 33 middle schools and manufacturers from Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, and Northampton counties partnered to create videos that answer the question “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing.”

More than1,000 people attended the awards event Tuesday at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.

Over a three-day voting period, the contest, which featured two-minute videos produced by each student team, received 339,663 votes.

The video with the most votes received the “Viewers Choice Award.”

The winner was J.T. Lambert Intermediate School, which profiled Ultra-Poly Corp.

Student videos were also reviewed by a panel of judges for awards in ten other categories, including Outstanding Videography and Outstanding Creativity.

The Outstanding Overall Program award went to Lower Macungie Middle School, which profiled B. Braun Medical Inc.

This was the tenth year for the program, which began in the Lehigh Valley and has since expanded throughout the state.

“Ten years ago, we started work on What’s So Cool about Manufacturing. We hoped to engage and inspire Lehigh Valley students, but could not have imagined that millions would be interested in middle school videos of manufacturing facilities,” says Karen Buck, director of Workforce Initiatives at MRC. “The community has come to expect the information about careers and technology the student teams so diligently spotlight in their educational and creative media messages. We applaud the efforts of the 33 student teams who raised awareness about cool career opportunities and broke all previous voting records.”

Other winners were:

Outstanding Editing: Springhouse Middle School – BlueTriton Brands

Outstanding Creativity: Bangor Area Middle School – Victaulic Company

Outstanding Cool: East Hills Middle School – ProtoCAM

Outstanding Team Spirit: Orefield Middle School – Precision Roll Grinders

Outstanding Educational Value: Nitschmann Middle School – ABEC

Outstanding Videography: Northeast Middle School – Stanley Black & Decker

Outstanding Outreach Plan: Saucon Valley Middle School – Kitchen Magic

Outstanding Career Pathway: Trexler Middle School – Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.

Outstanding CTE Story: J.T. Lambert Intermediate School – Ultra-Poly Corporation

Voting to begin for ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing’ student video contest

Students participate in a statewide ’What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?’ contest. PHOTO/SUMBITTED –

It’s that time of the year again.

Voting will soon begin for the 10th annual What’s So Cool About Manufacturing student video contest.

Organized by the Manufacturers Resource Center of the Lehigh Valley, student teams from 33 Lehigh Valley area middle schools compete for the most votes to win the coveted “Viewers Choice Award.”

They have been working with regional manufacturers to learn what they do and then produce a video explaining “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” at their partner company.

The videos will also be reviewed by a panel of judges for awards in ten other categories, including Outstanding Career Pathway, Outstanding Editing and Outstanding Creativity.

Since its inception, the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing Student Video Contest format, created by Manufacturers Resource Center here in the Lehigh Valley, has been replicated by sixteen regional contests, and adopted by stakeholders in 11 additional states.

Online voting will begin Wednesday March 1, 12:01 a.m. and remain open until Friday, March 3, 11:59 p.m. at www.whatssocool.org.

Voting is open to contest participants and the public, who may vote for more than one video and as often as they wish. The winner will be announced during this year’s awards event on March 14 at 7 p.m.

“We are thrilled to celebrate the 10th year of What’s So Cool with the Lehigh Valley community at our annual awards event,” says Rich Hobbs, MRC president & CEO. “While we anticipate a record-breaking voting response, what we love seeing most is the hard work and collaboration between the students, teachers and manufacturers, as well as the impact of sharing their message about manufacturing opportunities right here in our region.”

MRC begins 10th year of ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?’

The What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? awards are held at SteelStacks in Bethlehem. PHOTO/FILE –

The Lehigh Valley is entering its 10th year of a program to encourage young people to consider careers in manufacturing.

What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? started in the Lehigh Valley and has expanded across the state with more than 6,000 students and 525 manufacturers participating. In its 10th year, the program now has 60% of the state’s school districts participating.

Run by the Manufacturers Resource Center, What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? is a competition that pairs middle school students with nearby manufacturers where they learn about what the manufacturer does and then create a video about what they learned, which are then judged by the community and a panel of judges cumulating with an awards ceremony in March.

Over the past decade, MRC has grown The WSCM Video Library with almost 1,000 manufacturing videos to become a much sought-after resource for education and economic development.

Student teams will partner with manufacturers in eleven regions across Pennsylvania this year, where videos will compete first in regional contests and then in the annual Statewide Awards in Harrisburg.

“Bringing the excitement of ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?’ for the last 10 years in the Lehigh Valley is certainly a true accomplishment,” states Rich Hobbs, MRC president & CEO. “It takes communities joining together to embrace an established and well-loved contest that not only inspires and educates, but that potentially grows a future workforce which in turn, will support economic growth and expansion in the area,” he concludes.

For the Lehigh Valley competition this year, 32 student teams from Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, and Northampton County middle schools are partnering with 32 area manufacturers to produce their video submissions. All videos will be posted on the “What’s So Cool” website WhatsSoCool.org and will be open to the public for voting on March 1-3, 2023 for the Viewers Choice Award. The Lehigh Valley Awards Event is scheduled for Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.

Springhouse, Bangor top ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing Awards

Screenshot of Springhouse Middle School’s Viewer’s Choice video for Stanley Black & Decker. –

More than 1,000 people packed into SteelStacks in Bethlehem to learn “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing,” and to learn the results of the annual video contest that pairs middle school students with 28 Lehigh Valley manufacturers to promote careers in manufacturing.

The student videos received 128,620 votes over a three-day voting period to determine the viewer favorite, but a number of awards were given out to the student-created videos.

Voting determined the Viewer’s choice award and went to Springhouse Middle School for its video on Stanley Black & Decker.

Outstanding Overall Program as voted on by judges was Bangor Area Middle School for its video on L&M Fabrication & Machine.

Other winners were:

Outstanding Editing: J.T. Lambert Intermediate School – Lehigh Valley Plastics

Outstanding Creativity: Northeast Middle School – Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.

Outstanding Cool: Northampton Area Middle School – ABEC

Outstanding Team Spirit: Northern Lehigh Middle School – Piramal Critical Care, Inc.

Outstanding Educational Value (TIE): Broughal Middle School- Lehigh Heavy Forge Corporation

Outstanding Educational Value (TIE): Nazareth Area Middle School- Orbel Corporation

Outstanding Videography: Eyer Middle School-BlueTriton Brands

Outstanding Outreach Plan: Saucon Valley Middle School HindlePower, Inc.

Outstanding Career Pathway: Lower Macungie Middle School- Solar Technology, Inc

Outstanding Brand Placement: Penn-Kidder Campus- B.T.M. Incorporated

Sweet Manufacturing Cupcake Award Winner: Career Institute of Technology

“The student video contest is gaining more and more momentum every year. The combination of the way this creative program is structured, the hard work of the students, teachers and manufacturers and the excitement within the community make the WSCM contest a unique experience and an effective career awareness program,” said Rich Hobbs, president and CEO at the Manufacturers Resource Center of the Lehigh Valley, which organizes the event.

Voting to begin for Lehigh Valley manufacturing video contest

The 9th annual What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? video contest will be held at SteelStacks in Bethlehem. PHOTO/FILE –

Voting begins soon for the “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” contest in the Lehigh Valley.

The Manufacturers Resource Center said online public voting for the ninth year of the student video contest will begin March 23 at 12:01 a.m. and will continue through March 25 at 11:59 p.m.

Twenty-eight student teams will work with regional manufacturers to compete for the most votes to win the “Viewers Choice Award.”

The videos will also be reviewed by a panel of judges for awards in ten other categories, including Outstanding Career Pathway, Outstanding Editing and Outstanding Creativity. The Sweet Manufacturing Award will be presented to the winner of the CTE High School Cupcake Competition.

“What’s So Cool About Manufacturing is a yearly ‘tradition’ and our community has come to expect the information about careers and technology the student teams so diligently spotlight in their educational and creative media messages,” said Karen Buck, manager of Workforce Initiatives at the Manufacturers Resource Center. “The online voting process really allows the entire program message to be shared within school districts and in the community.”

Votes can be cast on the website https://www.whatssocool.org/ .

The winner will be announced during this year’s awards event, broadcast live on WFMZ April 5 at 7:00 p.m.

What’s So Cool About Manufacturing Lehigh Valley begins ninth year

The 2015 What’s So Cool About Manufacturing awards event at SteelStacks in Bethlehem. PHOTO/FILE –

As the weather gets cooler, so does manufacturing for middle school students in the Greater Lehigh Valley.

The Manufacturers Resource Center has now begun its ninth year of the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing Program.

In the Lehigh Valley, 28 student teams from Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe and Northampton county middle schools are partnering with 28 area manufacturers to produce videos that highlight their operations, with the theme of “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing.”

The goal is to get young people interested in manufacturing and other STEM-based careers, which need skilled labor.

The program, now held in counties throughout the state, originated in the Lehigh Valley. After winners are selected in each county, they will compete in a statewide competition in the spring.

Participating manufacturers include such employers as Lutron, Mack Trucks, ATAS International, Ocean Spray, Orbel Corp. Tyber Medical and Stanley Black & Decker.

“Building awareness for manufacturing careers has been our goal, by continuing to pair students and local manufacturers to work together with combined enthusiasm,” said Karen Buck, manager of workforce initiatives at MRC. “The benefits from the program for both students and manufacturers are limitless. Manufacturers get to offer students a rare behind-the-scenes perspective into well-paying careers in manufacturing. Students experience what it would be like to one day work for a cool, modern manufacturer. Younger generations are encouraged to become excited about STEM and CTE education and later, to possibly explore opportunities in manufacturing.”

Over the next several months teams of seventh and eighth graders will meet with the manufacturers to learn about their operations and create videos explaining what they do. The videos will posted to the website, whatssocool.org, and will be open to the public for voting February 23-25 for the Viewers’ Choice Award.

The Lehigh Valley Awards Event is scheduled for March 1 at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.

Videos created through the yearly regional contests have been compiled as an educational resource for anyone who is curious about manufacturing in Pennsylvania.

The What’s So Cool About Manufacturing video library was created in 2020. It was funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and contains almost 900 manufacturing videos.

Voting begins for Lehigh Valley’s What’s So Cool About Manufacturing contest

Bangor Area Middle School Students produced a video at B Brawn in Bethlehem, calling the manufacturer one of the heroes of the pandemic. SOURCE/WHATSSOCOOL.ORG

Voting begins today for the eighth year of the “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” Lehigh Valley contest.

Organized by the Manufacturers Resource Center, the contest pairs area manufacturers with middle-school students who teach them about the work they do. Later, the students create a video about what’s so cool about the manufacturer.

The contest, which started in the Lehigh Valley, but has now spread across the state with individual local contests, is designed to encourage young people to explore careers in manufacturing, where there is a high demand for skilled labor.

Members of the public can vote through April 9 for what they think is the best of the student videos. Those students will be honored with this year’s “Viewers Choice Award.”

A panel of judges will award honors in six other categories including Outstanding Career Pathway and Outstanding Creativity.

While the MRC usually hosts a large event to celebrate the wrap up of the competition, this year’s awards program will be taped in advance because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will then be aired on WFMZ TV and streamed on WFMZ.com on April 26 at 7 p.m.

Members of the public can view the videos and vote at https://www.whatssocool.org.

‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing’ begins in Berks, Schuylkill counties

In last year’s contest, Reading Southern Middle School students used a comic book theme in their video about Novipax LLC, a Berks County food tray manufacturer.

It’s time for middle school students in Berks and Schuylkill counties to learn “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing.”

The counties have begun their fifth year of the video competition organized by the Manufacturer’s Resource Center that pairs students with manufacturers in the region to learn about manufacturing careers.

This year, manufacturers like Palram Americas, Sweet Street Deserts and SOLO Laboratories Inc. will be working with student groups.

There will be a total of 21 manufacturer/student teams representing 19 school districts in the region.

Students will tour the manufacturers, interview management and staff and create a video explaining what is so cool about the manufacturing work being done there.

There will then be a virtual competition for the region and a statewide competition for the different What’s So Cool About Manufacturing programs around the state.

The goal of the competition is to get young people excited about careers in manufacturing at a time when they’re just beginning to consider their professional options.

“This career awareness program continues to excite students and manufacturers as it expands in Pennsylvania and spreads across the country,” said Karen Buck, manager of Workforce Initiatives at MRC. “The program is a win-win for students and manufacturers. The students get to experience what modern, cool manufacturing looks like and the manufacturers get to demonstrate well-paying careers in manufacturing while exciting the next generation about technical education and STEM curriculum.”

Students participating in this year’s competition will have a little extra boost for the first time.

The MRC has created an online video library of past student-created videos for them to reference as they begin their own projects.

Online voting on videos and awards ceremonies will be held in mid-April.

‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing’ kicks off 8th year with video library

Screenshot from a ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing’ video on Eastern Surfaces.

The Manufacturers Resource Center is launching its eighth “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” contest in the Lehigh Valley. And with eight years of student video entries of the workings of area manufacturers saved up it is launching a comprehensive library of those student videos.

The What’s So Cool About Manufacturing video library can be accessed through the WhatsSoCool.org website and contains more than 800 manufacturing videos.

What’s So Cool About Manufacturing, a series of video contest for middle school students, who pair with a nearby manufacturer to learn what they do and produce a video about its operations, is now a series of statewide competitions.

However, it began in the Lehigh Valley as a means to encourage more young people to get interested in manufacturing careers to meet the growing need for talent in technical fields.

“We are thrilled to kick off our eighth year of the WSCMLV program with this new digital asset for the state of Pennsylvania,” said Richard Hobbs, president and CEO of the Manufacturers Resource Center. “The library will serve as a resource for years to come and shows viewers just how important manufacturing is to our state and the country.”

For this year’s contests, student teams will partner with manufacturers for the virtual streamlined 2021 program throughout Pennsylvania this year, which culminate in April with online public voting and virtual awards events.

In the Lehigh Valley there will be 20 teams representing middle schools from Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton counties partnered with selected manufacturers to produce their video submissions that will be open to the public for voting in mid-April for the Viewer’s Choice Award.

Participating manufacturers include Proto Cam, Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. and Lutron Electronics.

Winners chosen in statewide ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing’ contest

The Springhouse Middle School video featuring Sharp Packaging Solutions was the Viewers’ Choice winner at the statewide What’s So Cool About Manufacturing ‘Best of PA’ awards. –

Reading Southern Middle School in Reading and Springhouse Middle School in South Whitehall Township, were among those honored Tuesday during the “Best of PA” statewide finals for the “What’s so Cool About Manufacturing” program.

A five judge panel reviewed 22 video entries representing 13 regional contests across the state, where middle school students partnered with local manufacturers to learn about what they do and about careers that are available.

This year’s winners were:

First Place: Saint Clair Middle School – featuring Hydro

Second Place: Reading Southern Middle School – featuring Novipax LLC

Third Place: Oil City Area Middle School – featuring Matric Group

The Springhouse Middle School team, which featured Sharp Packaging Solutions, received the Viewers’ Choice Award based on three-days of online voting on the videos.

The What’s So Cool About Manufacturing contest, which is organized by the Manufacturer’s Resource Center, began in the Lehigh Valley in 2013. Now, more than half the school districts in Pennsylvania have participated in regional events.

The program was developed to give students the opportunity to interact with local manufacturers to learn about careers and technology, record their experiences and present them to their peers in a video they produce. The goal was to get more young people interested in manufacturing industries that have been having trouble recruiting skilled labor.

Normally held in Harrisburg, this year’s event was held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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