All of the votes have been tallied for the 2026 region’s What’s So Cool About Manufacturing student video contest, with the winners of the area’s three regional contests announced during recent events.
But the contest isn’t totally over — it’s on to the state finals this week for several area schools.
The annual What’s So Cool About Manufacturing competition pairs middle school student teams in 13 regions across Pennsylvania with manufacturers to create engaging videos that showcase the “cool” aspects of their partner company’s manufacturing process.
Each contest had a three-day voting period. The video with the most votes in each group received the “Viewers Choice Award.” Student videos were also reviewed by a panel of judges for awards.
The awards events recognized seventh and eighth grade students in Chester and Delaware counties; Berks and Schuylkill counties; and Greater Philadelphia — which includes Montgomery County — following online voting and judges review.
Philadelphia Region
The contest for the Philadelphia Region is produced by the Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center, and includes schools from Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. This year, the eighth year for the program, featured teams from seven schools — including five from Montgomery County — that were matched with manufacturers to produce their video submissions.
The Philadelphia Region’s What’s So Cool About Manufacturing competition results, the first to be announced this year, were shared at a celebration March 26 at the Blue Bell Country Club.
Hannah McGarry, director, workforce engagement, Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center, said nearly 75 students participated this year, and company participants included some new manufacturers and some that have participated before.
The winners included:
• Outstanding Overall Program — Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic School’s profile of CW Thomas
• Viewers Choice — Blockson Middle School’s profile of Chadwick Optical
• Most Creative — Conwell Middle School’s profile of Weber Display & Packaging
• Best Videography — East Norriton Middle School’s profile of Fres-Co System
• Best Educational Value — Our Lady of Grace Catholic School’s profile of Dunmore International
“This competition includes various components that expose our middle schoolers to the diverse career opportunities in manufacturing. It also equips the teams with skills in video editing, marketing, creativity and teamwork,” Hannah McGarry, director of workforce engagement for Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center, previously told MediaNews Group.
The videos can be viewed at https://www.whatssocool.org/contests/philly/.
The team from Boyertown Middle School West won the category of Outstanding Editing in the 2026 What’s So Cool About Manufacturing contest for Berks/Schuylkill counties – for the team’s profile of American Crane and Equipment Corp. (Courtesy Sahl Communications)
Berks/Schuylkill counties
The contest in Berks and Schuylkill counties is produced by the Manufacturers Resource Center. This year, which marked the 10th anniversary of the Berks Schuylkill student video contest, teams from 33 middle schools were matched with manufacturers to produce their video submissions.
The winners from Berks and Schuylkill counties were announced April 14 at a ceremony at the Doubletree by Hilton hotel Reading, with more than 1,000 attending the downtown Reading event.
During a three-day voting period, the contest received 176,828 online votes. The video with the most votes received the “Viewers Choice Award.” Student videos were also reviewed by a panel of judges for awards in eleven other categories, including Outstanding Career Pathway and Outstanding Creativity.
The team from Reading Southwest Middle School won the category of Outstanding Career Pathway for Berks/Schuylkill counties – for its video profile of The Rose Corp. in the 2026 What’s So Cool About Manufacturing student video contest. (Courtesy Sahl Communications)
The winners:
• Outstanding Overall — D.H.H. Lengel Middle School’s profile of Mrs. T’s Pierogies
• Outstanding Editing — Boyertown Middle School West’s profile of American Crane & Equipment Corp.
• Outstanding Creativity — Schuylkill Valley Middle School ’s profile of Glen-Gery
• Outstanding Cool — Pine Grove Area Middle School’s profile of Blaschak Anthracite
• Outstanding Team Spirit — Twin Valley Middle School’s profile of R.M. Palmer Co. LLC
• Outstanding Videography — Conrad Weiser Middle School’s profile of Penske Racing Shock.
• Viewers Choice — Blue Mountain Middle School’s profile of Hydro
• Outstanding Outreach Plan — Wilson Southern Middle School’s profile of Eagle Metals Inc.
• Outstanding Career Pathway — Reading Southwest Middle School’s profile of The Rose Corp.
• Outstanding Brand Placement — Reading Northeast Middle School’s profile of Sweet Street Desserts.
• Best Career & Technical Education Story — Fleetwood Middle School’s profile of Omnitech Automation Inc.
• Outstanding Educational Value — North Schuylkill Jr/Sr High School’s profile of EMD Electronics
“Ten years ago, we expanded the What’s So Cool contest to the Berks Schuylkill region. We are thrilled to celebrate another strong season marked by enthusiastic participation and incredible community support,” Karen Buck, director, workforce initiatives at Manufacturer’s Resource Center, said in a statement. “This year, 33 teams helped shine a spotlight on the many exciting career opportunities right here in our region. The level of student engagement and voting participation continues to demonstrate growing interest in the program.”
The videos can be viewed on the What’s So Cool website https://www.whatssocool.org/contests/berks-schuylkill/.
Chester/Delaware counties
The 2026 contest for Chester and Delaware counties marked its 11th year and is produced by the Manufacturing Alliance of Chester and Delaware Counties. This year, teams from nine schools were matched with manufacturers to produce their video submissions, with winners named in seven categories.
Participating schools worked alongside their manufacturing partner companies to produce, edit and market a video highlighting what manufacturers produce, how they make it, and why working with technology can be fun and rewarding. The winners from Chester and Delaware counties were announced April 23 at Penn State Great Valley Conference Center in Malvern, following online voting by the public.
The award winners:
• Outstanding Manufacturing Message — Springton Lake Middle School’s profile of CPV Manufacturing
• Outstanding Videography — Great Valley Middle School’s profile of Lavazza Inc.
• Outstanding Editing — Penn’s Grove School’s profile of Aerzen USA
• Outstanding Creativity — Phoenixville Area Middle School’s profile of United Safety and Survivability Corp.
• Outstanding Overall Video — Delaware County Christian School’s profile of Southco
• Viewer’s Choice Award — Octorara Middle School’s profile of JGM Fabricators & Constructors LLC
• Outstanding Outreach Plan — Penn’s Grove Middle School’s profile of Aerzen USA
“Manufacturing is one of the biggest industries in this region, but most students don’t even realize there are so many manufacturers locally,” Jim Lauckner of the Chester County Economic Development Council’s Manufacturing Alliance of Chester and Delaware counties said in a statement. “This program is about getting students in the door, connecting them to these companies, and hopefully inspiring this generation about what a career in modern manufacturing can look like.”
The videos can be viewed at https://www.whatssocool.org/contests/chester-delaware/.
The team from Great Valley Middle School won the category of Outstanding Videography for its profile of Lavazza Inc. in the 2026 What’s So Cool About Manufacturing student video contest for Chester/Delaware counties. (By Zhayer Legrand – Courtesy Chester County Economic Development Council)
State competition
On May 13, the Best of PA event in Harrisburg will feature videos from contests throughout the state. A panel of judges will select Pennsylvania’s top three videos. The nominees are selected from the 13 regional 2026 state contests, which had 165 entries, according to the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing website.
The Best of PA nominees from the Berks/Schuylkill contest include:
• Conrad Weiser Middle School
• Boyertown Middle School West
• Blue Mountain Middle School
• D.H.H. Lengel Middle School
The Best of PA nominee from the Chester/Delaware contest:
• Delaware County Christian School
The Best of PA nominee from the Philadelphia Region contest:
• Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic School
The Best of PA videos can be viewed at https://www.whatssocool.org/contests/best-of-pa/