Morganton, NC – Nine 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, Leviton, and the City of Morganton have come together to sponsor the 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. The 2019 M.A.D.E. competing teams will be designing and building their engineering projects on site during Friday, September 6th, noon- 8pm and Saturday, September 7th, 9am – 4pm during the Morganton Festival. Judging will take place at 4pm on Saturday. The artifact each team creates will be the team’s best answer to an engineering challenge presented to them a week before the competition takes place. Teams will only be allowed to build with the materials presented to them on site.

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 display the fol-lowing skillsets:

• General problem solving
• Skill in using basic tools including but not limited to: band saws, drill presses, hand drills, soldering irons, and other assorted hand tools
• 3D CAD skills
• 3D printing
• Familiarity with common materials used in building and construction included but not limited to plastics, foam board, sheet metal, and wood
• Technical drawing and sketching skills
• Presentation software
• Public speaking
• Familiarity with the mechanical parts of a vex system

The competitors include teams from East Burke Middle School, East Burke High School, Draughn High School, Patton High School, Freedom High School, Liberty Middle School, Heritage Middle School, Walter Johnson Middle School, and Morganton Day 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 6 & 7 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, 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.