By Jamie Cope
For the past four years, the Robert C. Byrd Institute (RCBI) has celebrated National Manufacturing Day the first Friday in October by hosting the West Virginia Makes Festival. Each year the festival has experienced exponential growth. With 80 exhibitors and 2,000 people converging on Marshall University’s Memorial Student Center Plaza in Huntington, the 2017 event was the largest one yet.
Photo by Bill Woodrum
Those familiar with a Maker Faire have a pretty good understanding of what the West Virginia Makes Festival is like. It brings together makers, entrepreneurs, hackers, tinkerers and artists, encouraging them to show attendees what they make. The main difference between the West Virginia Makes Festival and a Maker Faire is that the Mountain State event includes a competition in which makers are judged on their creativity and innovation. Winners receive cash prizes in adult and student divisions. Another impressive difference is that there is no charge for attendees or exhibitors to participate in the festival.
This annual festival attracts an eclectic group of creative individuals. In the span of about 10 feet, one can see exhibitors displaying 3-D printed guitars, crocheted animals, an electronic system for plant care and a frozen fruit alternative to popsicles. Many exhibits include hands-on activities to engage the 500-plus students who attend the event. Whether it’s painting ceramic tiles, making a stress ball or creating an air-powered rocket with the assistance of NASA representatives, there is always something new to do or try.
Photo by Bill Woodrum
“At RCBI we support manufacturing, and the heart of manufacturing is all about making things,” says Charlotte Weber, director and CEO of RCBI. “The West Virginia Makes Festival helps inspire entrepreneurs, engineers and makers, showcasing the abundance of creativity right here in our own backyard.”
While the festival includes a design challenge competition, the comradery and spirit of knowledge sharing is evident everywhere one looks. The sentiment was probably summed up best by a gifted fifth-grade Cabell County student. When she learned her invention was not selected for a 2017 award, she announced with a huge smile, “I guess I have 364 days to come up with something better for next year.”
The 2017 Design Challenge winners for the adult categories were:
- Best of Show – Robert Jenkins of Huntington for his innovative school bus stop safety system;
- Most Radical Design – Terry Jude of Beaver for his creatively engineered storage solution that looks like a regular door;
- Great Innovator – Thomas Cornett of Lewisburg for his strong, lightweight method of manufacturing bricks from recycled cardboard; and
- Best Use of Technology – Bob Lersch of Mason for his environmentally responsible water treatment system for commercial, industrial and residential applications.
This year’s youth winners were:
- Best of Show – Ramsey and J.R. Ash of Huntington for their stainless-steel mouse guard to protect beehives from rodents;
- Great Innovator – Tristan Hornbuckle of Huntington for his versatile Kool Kids Injury Pack;
- Great Mind of the Future – Claire Johnson of Huntington for her Pocket of Calm, a multi-sensory soothing device; and
- Young Promise Award – Kanon Dillon of Huntington for his 3-D printed device that evenly coats chicken wings without the traditional mess.
About the Author
Jamie Cope is the deputy director and director of innovation and entrepreneurship at the Robert C. Byrd Institute (RCBI). Cope leads RCBI’s entrepreneur-focused initiatives, including Early Stage Funding Opportunities, grant programs designed to put the power of RCBI resources into the hands of entrepreneurs; the Maker Vault, a space that encourages an entrepreneurial spirit for makers in the Huntington community; and the annual West Virginia Makes Festival. An entrepreneur himself, Cope was founder and president of Destiny Images, a computer animation and media production company that received numerous awards for quality and creativity. Cope holds a mechanical engineering degree from Washington University in St. Louis and currently resides in Scott Depot, WV.
