You can now watch the newest Make48 season in its entirety! The 48-hour national invention competition series returned for its’ FIFTH season on PBS.org and will reach over 95% of US households on local PBS stations.
In 2021, Make48, the fastest invention-competition and docuseries, transformed the success of the PBS documentary into a movement and executed 4-city competitions. Expanding beyond television, Make48 launched the ‘City Series’ with great success. The eight participating teams for Season 5 were the top two winners from four 2021 regional competitions held in; Wichita, KS, Madison, WI, Indianapolis, IN, and Hartford, CT. Challenge sponsors included industry leaders Koch Industries, Midwest Prototyping, Eli Lilly and Stanley Black & Decker. Filming and venue partner took place in Wichita, Kan. at GoCreate, a Koch Collaborative. The panel of judges came from around the country. Judges Kevin Mako (Mako Design + Invent), Rupal Thanawala (Trident Systems), and Leigh Anne Taylor-Knight (DeBruce Foundation) had the difficult decision of picking the winning team.
STEAM toys was the 48-hour challenge and teams competed on the national stage for a grand prize of $10K “These teams were the best of the best in the ‘City Series’ competitions leading up to Nationals”, Tom Gray expressed. “It doesn’t matter if you’re 8 or 80, anyone can have an innovative idea.” On top of having a first-place trophy, a group of students voted on their favorite idea and a ‘kid’s choice’ award was handed out at the end of the night.
Teams were assisted by our Tool Techs, who were some of the biggest cheerleaders, as well as mentors and industry experts. In just 48 hours, the contestants built outstanding prototypes with the assistance of the Makers. Competing at Nationals this year were:
Wichita, Kansas: Veni, Vidi, Vici and SuperVader.
Madison, Wisconsin: The FreeWheelers and the Stainless Steel Badgers
Indianapolis, Indiana: The Mallorys and TheGrindery.org
Hartford, Connecticut: Magic Make and My Three Sons
It was another incredible season. We would like to thank ALL of the teams who came through Make48’s doors and we’re so grateful to the communities, businesses and individuals who made an impact. We’d also like to thank our film crews at Outpost Worldwide and Stellar Image Studios for following us throughout the year. Lastly, a HUGE Thank You to our amazing sponsors who are reshaping, inspiring and connecting future leaders in innovation and changing the face of manufacturing.
Next year, the Make48 season is taking a big leap, and news will be released soon on the move. Subscribe to the newsletter, follow our events and catch up with this year’s ‘City Series’ on Make48’s YouTube channel.