Morganton, NC – Eight Burke County Middle and High School Teams go head to head in an engineering competition this September during the Morganton Festival. The M.A.D.E. (Morganton, Arts, Design and Engineering) Competition will showcase the cutting edge technological skills of Burke County students. Work in Burke, Continental, Kellex, the City of Morganton, Western Piedmont Community College and Packaging Corporation of America have come together to sponsor the inaugural M.A.D.E. Competition. Participating schools are competing for funds to support their engineering classrooms.

Be sure to visit the large M.A.D.E Tent on the grass at the corner of Green and Avery and support these talented young students. Competing teams and their work will be on display Friday, September 7, noon-8pm and Saturday, September 8, 9am-7pm during the Morganton Festival. Other vendors include virtual reality demonstrations, 3D printing demos, Appalachian Solar Vehicle, Robotics and several sponsors!

M.A.D.E. engages Burke County students in critical thinking, design, engineering and innovation in a way that works toward meeting the needs of local industry. This year’s competition calls for students to design and produce a chair that can easily be produced and manufactured in developing countries utilizing cardboard as the sole material. Festival goers will have an opportunity to test the chairs and see the design process from each of the eight teams.

These teams will be judged by local industry leaders according to: 1. Design Portfolio-the organization of all the documentation and processes; 2. Design Brief-outline of the deliverables and scope of the project including any products or works (function and aesthetics), timing and budget; 3. Ideation-ideas or concepts; 4. Orthographic Drawing-a three-dimensional object using several two-dimensional views of the object; 5. Parts Drawings-shows the relationship or order of assembly of the various parts; 6. Designer’s Log–notes on their process; 7. One-eighth scale, three dimension model; 8. Chair Production-aesthetics, comfort, weight limits, ease of ability to ship.

The competitors include two teams each from Patton High School and Liberty Middle School and one team each from East Burke High School, East Burke Middle School, Heritage Middle School and Table Rock Middle School. Come and see the innovative talents right here in Burke County!

Be a part of the M.A.D.E. Competition during the Morganton Festival, September 7 & 8 in downtown Morganton. The festival is an animal-free event and will go on rain or shine. For a complete listing of all the events including the Sunrise Run, MADE, Miss Morganton Pageant, music acts, and more, contact us by phone at 828- 438-5252; by email at [email protected]; or check out the website www.morgantonfest.org.