With the bait of 3D-printed fishing lures, Bryan Bush of Lewisburg hooked the attention of both festival-goers and design judges alike to earn the “Best in Show” grand prize and $1,000 during the third-annual West Virginia Makes Festival. The lures designed and 3D-printed by the middle school teacher were among dozens of innovative creations on display Oct. 7 during the Robert C. Byrd Institute’s (RCBI) annual celebration of creativity and ingenuity.
Staged this year on the Huntington campus of Marshall University, the festival attracted 3D Printing enthusiasts, live music acts, special technology exhibits, games, interactive attractions, performance artists, students of all ages, makers and entrepreneurs. The focus on STEM skills and artisanal crafts reinforces hands-on opportunities available to everyone, according to Charlotte Weber, RCBI director and CEO.
Other Design Challenge winners were brothers Oakley and Vance Wheeler of Lavalette, who took home the “WV Awesome Award” and a $500 cash prize for their creation that recycles bottle caps by turning them into decorative baskets; Jordan Fannin of Athens, Ohio, for his bio-watt power generator, which captured the “Innovation Award”; Ruston Seaman of Philippi, who won “Most Original Design” for his LED-lit basketball rim; and Walter Bird of Morgantown, who earned “Best Presentation” for his Baseball Training Zone invention.
In a youth-focused series of awards, siblings Mason and Alex Hill of Buffalo, won the “Great Innovator Award” for their Coal Train Music creation; Grace Napier of Barboursville, was named “Great Mind of the Future” for her Not Gross Compost design; and Patricia Robertson of Barboursville was recognized with the “Young Promise Award” for her environmentally safe, outdoor-barbecue utensil, The Grill Cleaner.
This year’s sponsors of RCBI’s festival include the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, Bulldog Creative Services, Dutch Miller Auto Group, Edward Tucker Architects, Epilog Laser, the Huntington Area Development Council (HADCO), Marshall University, and Moses Auto Group.
The West Virginia Makes Festival encourages artists, innovators, engineers, makers and students of all ages to interact and network to inspire creativity. Learn more at www.rcbi.org/online/wvmakes.
more recommended stories
Beginner’s photography class planned at New River CTC
Facebook0Tweet0Pin0 Learn how to take great.
EGMS holds Covid-safe music performance
Facebook0Tweet0Pin0 Students in the Eastern Greenbrier.
GV Aquatic Center announces approximate September opening, $800,000 fundraising goal
Facebook0Tweet0Pin0 By Bobby Bordelon Despite the.
More students return to class in new Greenbrier County school return plan
Facebook0Tweet0Pin0 By Bobby Bordelon The Greenbrier.
Return to school plan presented to Board of Education, President Wyatt asks for ‘patience’
Facebook0Tweet0Pin0 By Bobby Bordelon An emergency.
Building Trails to a Bright Future: Meadow River Valley Association releases Strategic Plan 2020-2025
Facebook0Tweet0Pin0 The Meadow River Valley Association’s.
First COVID-19 vaccine doses arrived in Greenbrier County, but we’re far from out of the pandemic woods
Facebook0Tweet0Pin0 By Bobby Bordelon The first.
Greenbrier County Board of Education votes to shift to remote learning this week, to reconsider school plan over the weekend
Facebook0Tweet0Pin0 By Bobby Bordelon Greenbrier County.
-
Department of Education shows dip in student enrollment for 2021-22 school year
Facebook0Tweet0Pin0 More than 9,000 fewer students.
Past week sees big changes in COVID-19 executive orders, mask mandates, and school year
Facebook0Tweet0Pin0 By Bobby Bordelon Changes to.