Educators & Schools
What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?®
Give students a firsthand look at modern manufacturing while building skills they already use in school.
What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? is a free program for participating schools that helps middle school students explore manufacturing careers, connect classroom skills to real workplaces, and work together on a hands-on video project.
What Students Will Experience
Each participating school is paired with a local manufacturing company. Students will:
- Be assigned a local manufacturer to profile
- Visit the company to learn about its people, products, and operations
- Interview employees and explore different career paths
- Research and plan the story they want to tell
- Film and edit a short video about their manufacturer
- Submit the completed video for the regional competition
- Celebrate regional award winners, with top videos advancing to the statewide competition
Why Teachers Choose WSCM
WSCM gives teachers a structured way to bring career exploration, employer engagement, and applied learning into the student experience without having to build the industry connections themselves. The program helps schools:
- Introduce students to local career opportunities
- Connect classroom skills to real workplaces
- Give students meaningful interaction with industry professionals
- Provide a project that combines research, communication, teamwork, technology, and creativity
- Expose students to careers and college pathways they may not have considered
- Build stronger connections with local employers
- Offer students a culminating regional competition experience
Your Role and MANTEC’s Support
Each school designates a teacher or advisor to serve as the primary contact and guide the student team through the experience. Teachers help students stay on track, coordinate with the assigned manufacturer, support company visits and video development, and meet program deadlines. MANTEC supports participating schools by providing:
- Equipment and Resources
- Connections to local manufacturers
- Guidance throughout the project
- Technical support
- Program information and deadlines