With the click of a mouse, young people can get a behind-the-scenes look into the significance and fascination of manufacturing. The Manufacturing is Cool Website was re-designed by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Education Foundation with the goal of inspiring pre-teens and teens to pursue careers in engineering and manufacturing.

“If we are going to inspire enough young people to pursue careers in engineering in the coming decades, we have to show our kids how fascinating math and science can be,” said Glen Pearson, president of the SME Education Foundation. “With this Website, we’re showing kids all the cool things they could do if they pursue a career in manufacturing.”

The Manufacturing is Cool site (high-speed connection recommended) provides an inside look at:

• Design and production of kid favorites, such as snacks, fashion, cars, and cell phones;
• Video clips of peers creating radio-controlled airplanes and building computers at Science,
• Technology & Engineering Preview Summer (STEPS) programs;
• Moving Mechanical, behind the wheel; and
• Favorite Fashionista, cosmetics and apparel design.

Activities and resources available will continue to evolve as new information is posted to the site. From the first click, the site encourages the visitor to “Be an original thinker.”

Parents, teachers, and students also can use the Manufacturing Is Cool Website as a resource for information on the foundation, such as its available grants and scholarships. More than $19 million has been distributed by the Education Foundation since 1980. SME created it in 1979 as a means of transforming manufacturing education in North American colleges and universities.

The Manufacturing Is Cool Website is part of the foundation’s larger initiative to address the shortage of skilled manufacturing workers. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the shortage will critically affect U.S. manufacturers, if left unchecked.

www.manufacturingiscool.com