PBS39 Partners with the Manufacturing Resource Center to Find Out ‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?’

The annual contest excites students across Pennsylvania to explore cool manufacturing careers and produce profiles of companies.

Bethlehem, PA – February 1, 2018 – PBS39 has partnered, once again, with the Manufacturing Resource Center (MRC) for the “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” (WSCM) Student Video Contest.

This year, the Lehigh Valley version of the WSCM contest celebrates its fifth anniversary with 30 teams from 22 districts in Lehigh, Northampton, and Carbon counties, as well as the Diocese of Allentown. These student teams will visit area manufacturers to capture video snapshots of what it’s like to embark on an exciting career in manufacturing.

PBS39 gives teachers the in-person training needed to coach this student-led, project-based learning curriculum. Throughout the construction of these digital stories, PBS39 provides the students with three formative assessments to assist in creating the very best project possible.

“It is such an amazing experience assisting middle school students throughout the region and the state in digital storytelling skills, while they learn about STEM careers in the manufacturing sector,” says Matt Lewis, PBS39’s Education Media Specialist. “I am constantly amazed by the talent of these young people and the open doors the local manufacturers provide to their community schools.”

Upon completion of the students’ projects, a public voting period to choose the winners of the Lehigh Valley contest will take place at WhatsSoCool.org from Wednesday, February 21 to Friday, February 23, with a public awards ceremony to follow on Tuesday, February 27 at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks.

About Manufacturers Resource Center:
Since 1988, the Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC) has helped small and mid-sized manufacturers become more competitive, adopt lean and agile processes, strategically grow their companies and invest more effectively in their existing human capital. MRC is a nonprofit organization partially funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s NIST-MEP program, as well as the State of Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development. The MRC is dedicated to creating jobs and economic opportunity in eastern Pennsylvania’s Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, and Schuylkill counties.

About PBS39
PBS39 is a community-owned public television station licensed to Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton, Pa., serving eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. PBS39 is owned and operated by the Lehigh Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation. PBS39 acts as the catalyst to promote civic engagement, and to fulfill the regional needs of the Greater Lehigh Valley through its dynamic communication platforms and resources. For more information, visit wlvt.org.

Information Provided By:
DaWayne Cleckley
VP, Marketing
PBS39