Make48 will return to Wichita for its 2022 City Series competition next week with Koch Industries on board as challenge sponsor. For the second year running, the celebrated docuseries has tapped GoCreate Makerspace, a Koch Collaborative, to host the 48-hour collaborative inventor and maker challenge. The event will take place June 10-12, and it will mark the third competition Make48 has held at the facility, following 2021’s City Series challenge and National Competition, earlier this year.
Koch Industries will once again serve as the competition’s challenge sponsor, helping craft the teams’ objectives. “Last year’s partnership highlighted the creative talents among Wichita entrepreneurs and their determination to develop innovative solutions to everyday problems,” said Meredith Olson, vice president of community affairs for Koch Industries. “GoCreate will once again host the event, providing an ideal environment for teams to dream big.”
The Wichita teams’ challenge category is Community Gardening. In communities all over America, local citizens are coming together and taking ugly, unused plots of land and turning them into productive vegetable plots for residents to enjoy. Koch Industries chose the category to benefit the ICT community and make gardening more accessible to everyone within walking distance.
There are certain areas of Wichita that live in a ‘food desert’, meaning residents’ access to affordable, healthy food options (especially fresh fruits and vegetables) is restricted or nonexistent due to the absence of grocery stores within convenient traveling distance. Urban agriculture, or community gardens, introduces land for crops creating benefits and unifying a community. The challenge will focus on helping those who want to become more self-sufficient and encourage hands-on learning of all ages.
In honor of the ‘Community Garden’ challenge, on June 10th and throughout the weekend, a Kansas Food Bank bin will be placed near the front doors of GoCreate to collect canned goods and meals. If you’d like to donate to the Make48 Food Drive, please drop off items between June 10 - 12th. We will also have a QR code for those who would like to make a cash donation to the Kansas Food Bank. Follow this link Donate at the Make48 Food Drive with The Kansas Food Bank to donate and learn more.
Teams will brainstorm and build their ideas with the assistance of tool techs and mentors at GoCreate, a Koch Collaborative, a 18,000-square foot state-of-the-art makerspace located on the Wichita State University campus. A creative community makerspace, GoCreate features numerous resources including textiles, woodworking and metals studios, 3D printing, electronics and more. Its expert staff will be on hand to support Make48 participants as they create their prototypes.
GoCreate's Facility and Operations Manager, Ken Wiseman will be assisting the teams during the event. He’s looking forward to his third opportunity of working with Make48 and the local innovation teams around the community. “I know for myself and the team we have here at GoCreate, we love seeing what the teams come up with and how the competition views different in the solutions that are presented at the end to the judges. GoCreate Director Ty Masterson and Assistant Director Kim McCollum are very well-versed in thinking outside the box and this is what their vision is all about. With Wichita State University, Koch and NIAR giving the community this opportunity, it is so exciting to have Make48 in the house bringing this to the rest of the world. I am excited to see this season’s challenge in Gardening for a community that does not have access to nearby stores for their needs. Good luck teams and lets have some fun!”
We’re thrilled to head into Wichita and meet the 8 teams competing this weekend. The winning team will win $2k and advance to compete at the national competition, slated for March 2023, where one team can win $10k. Watch what happened last year at Wichita-Make48 202 HERE.
About Make48
Make48 is a nationwide invention-competition docuseries distributed by leading syndicator American Public Television that gives teams a challenge at the start of a two-day event. With just 48 hours, teams must create a prototype, promotional video and sales sheet, and present their idea to a panel of judges. The teams have access to a makerspace and numerous Tool Techs that can make almost anything, patent attorneys, marketing experts, and more. This format allows everyone to have a level playing field and the chance to win, with no prior technical knowledge necessary. Make48 Facebook YouTube Twitter Instagram
About Koch Industries, Inc.
Based in Wichita, Kansas, Koch Industries, Inc. is one of the largest private companies in America, with estimated annual revenues that have exceeded $125 billion. It owns a diverse group of companies involved in industrial manufacturing, agriculture, building materials, glass, automotive components, refining, renewable energy, chemicals and polymers, pulp and paper, packaging, consumer products, electronics, enterprise software, data analytics, medical products, engineered technology, project services, recycling, supply chain and logistics, global commodities trading, and investments. Since 2003, Koch companies have invested nearly $150 billion in growth and improvements. With a presence in more than 70 countries, Koch companies employ more than 120,000 people worldwide, with about half of those in the United States. For more news and information, visit www.KOCHind.com.
About GoCreate Makerspace
GoCreate is a 18,000-square foot state-of-the-art makerspace located on the Wichita State University campus and is open to those of all ages and backgrounds who have an idea they want to see take flight. A creative community makerspace, GoCreate features numerous resources including textiles, woodworking and metals studios, 3D printing, electronics and more. Koch Industries and the Fred and Mary Koch Foundation donated $3.75 million to provide membership and training assistance to qualifying applicants, as well as support for mentor fellowships. That gift and the GoCreate space are central to the mission of the WSU Innovation Campus — to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good.
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