The NEW Manufacturing Alliance debuts new math and science videos at Manufacturing Month event

GREEN BAY (WLUK) — October is Manufacturing Month in Wisconsin, and the NEW Manufacturing Alliance is celebrating with a series of events promoting education and giving back.

FOX 11's Pete Petoniak helped kick off the month-long celebration by hosting the 10th annual Get Real Math & Science Video Premiere, held Tuesday at the Meyer Theater in Green Bay.

During the event, the NEW Manufacturing Alliance also debuted a video on “Successful Communication in the Workplace,” highlighting five regional manufacturers, as well as other videos about manufacturing jobs and products made in Oconto and Shawano counties.

There were also prizes to be won at the premiere. Schools were eligible to win $500 for their math and science programs and counseling departments, and technically trained teachers were eligible to receive a welding machine valued at over $7,000.

“We bring together educators and manufacturers to talk about how we can get kids excited about careers. The result is our “Get Real Math” and “Get Real Science” videos, which we are releasing for the tenth time,” said Ann Franz , executive director of the NEW Manufacturing Alliance.

These videos are then used as teaching tools in classrooms across the country.

“What’s really cool is that not only our community, but educators across the country are using these videos. And I think the key is that we work with real teachers to create these, and then we work with industries, so on the terminology and things.” “What they say is really real. And we want to show the kids that – you know what, one day they’ll actually use this,” Franz explained.

Throughout October, the NEW Manufacturing Alliance will cover bus costs for students attending factory tours of area manufacturing companies.

Other events taking place later this month include the 13th Annual Excellence in Mfg./K-12 Partnerships Awards Dinner and the 14th Annual Manufacturing First Expo & Conference. These events will take place at the Resch Expo on October 29th and 30th, respectively.