With their theme of “Alice in Wonderland,” nine students from Northwest Middle School (NWMS)partnered with Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials Inc., to enthusiastically tackle this year’s What’s So Cool About Manufacturing contest. The contest, sponsored by the Manufacturers Resource Center in Allentown, provides students with the opportunity to explore careers in manufacturing while learning how to create professional videos.
Northwest Middle School Students took on the challenge this year and participated in the contest with the help of their STEM teacher, Mr. Stefon Pizzuto. This is Pizzuto’s first time participating in the contest but he knows his students are up for it. The video must be 2-3 minutes long, explain the manufacturing process, and incorporate a theme. “It’s the first year. I know mistakes will be made and it’s a learning process, but it will be fun,” said Pizzuto.
The group was only able to meet once a week, but their work was impressive. The most challenging part of the process was editing. “We have about three hours of video and we need to cut it to three minutes,” stated Anya, the tech leader of the group.
During production, each student took on a different role such as interviewer, director, editor, etc. “The students have worked well together as a cohesive group with the planning process and creation of the video,” said Pizzuto.
The students were most excited about their visit to the manufacturing plant. The consensus of the group was that it was huge and loud. During their visit, they filmed footage, learned what makes manufacturing cool, and interviewed employees.
The video deadline was the end of February and the judging occurred on March 8th, 9th and 10th. On March 21, 2023, What’s So Cool About Manufacturing held its awards ceremony for the Berks-Schuylkill region at the Hilton Doubletree Hotel in Reading. While the Northwest Middle School’s team did not take home an award this year, the experience will stay with them for years to come!
