A team of Mars Area Middle School eighth-graders has submitted an entry to the 2020 Pittsburgh “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” Student Video Contest.

As part of the contest, team members Teo Biaggini, Charlie Bickel, Cooper Courson, Nicholas Ferrari, Addison Girdwood, Annelie Gustafsson, Kylie Lavelle, Katelyn McKee and Mira Ramanathan were provided with video equipment and training and were asked to create a short video profiling a local manufacturing company and the career opportunities it offers.

Mars Area Middle School's team was paired with Schroeder Industries (Leetsdale, Pa.), which design, manufactures and markets Advanced Fluid Conditioning Solutions® for hydraulic systems. The team toured Schroeder Industries in October; filmed their video in November; and then spent the next few weeks editing the footage using Windows Movie Maker software.

CONTEST VOTING — The team’s “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” video, along with all contest entries, will be posted online at www.whatssocool.org/contests/pittsburgh-central/. Voting will take place Monday, Feb. 10, through Friday, Feb. 14.

Catalyst Connection sponsors the annual contest, which reinforces STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Mathematics) education and gives students an inside look at the various career opportunities available in manufacturing.

For more information, call (724) 625-3145.