It’s back — the annual What’s So Cool About Manufacturing video contest is officially underway in Berks and Schuylkill counties.
This is the 11th year for the program in the two counties.
What’s So Cool About Manufacturing is a video-based program that provides middle school students with an opportunity to connect directly with local manufacturers.
Over the course of several months, the students develop, shoot, edit and produce a “cool” video to document their experiences with a local business. The program is also designed to increase awareness of career paths in technology in manufacturing.
“The program’s continued success and impact can be attributed to the dedication of the teachers and students, the engagement of parents, the support from school district administrators, and the commitment of many community stakeholders to building a future workforce,” Manufacturers Resource Center President and CEO Rich Hobbs said in a statement.
Developed in 2013 by the MRC for students in the Lehigh Valley, the program has been replicated across Pennsylvania.
This year, student teams in 12 regions will partner with manufacturers to learn about the companies and create videos that will compete in regional contests and then for statewide awards in Harrisburg.
For this year’s program, teams from 31 Berks and Schuylkill County middle schools have been paired with 31 area manufacturers to produce videos, which will be posted on the “What’s So Cool” website WhatsSoCool.org once they are completed.
To see the participating schools and their manufacturing partners for this year’s contest visit: https://www.whatssocool.org/contests/berks-schuylkill/.
The Berks and Schuylkill County videos will be open to the public for voting April 5 for the Viewers Choice Award. An awards event for the Berks and Schuylkill competition is scheduled for April 13 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Reading.
“We are delighted to announce the 11th annual WSCM program in Berks and Schuylkill counties,” MRC Director of Workforce Initiatives Karen Buck said in a statement. “We encourage students to consider CTE and STEM education as they prepare for high school and consider future careers. The program creates valuable opportunities for both students and manufacturers.”
Partnering with MRC for the Berks Schuylkill WSCM 2027 program are Berks Business Education Coalition, eMediaWorks, and Sahl Communications Inc.
This file photo shows the team from Boyertown Middle School West, which 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)
Final plans for the contests elsewhere in southeastern Pennsylvania have not yet been announced.
The contest for the Philadelphia region — which includes Montgomery, Bucks and Philadelphia counties — is produced by the Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center. This will be the ninth year the region has participated. Last year, 75 students representing seven schools participated in the program.
In Chester and Delaware counties, the 2027 contest is produced by the Manufacturing Alliance of Chester and Delaware Counties. This will be the 12th year the region has participated. Last year, teams from nine schools were matched with manufacturers to produce videos.
Once voting is completed in the spring, nominees from the regional competitions will head to Harrisburg to compete in the annual statewide awards, where a national panel of judges will select the state’s top three videos.