MADE Competition
Historic Morganton Festival, Inc. has made the difficult decision to no longer host the M.A.D.E. Competition.
If your organization is interested in taking on this event, we are happy to share our planning materials with you! Please contact info@morgantonfest.org for this information.
Historic Morganton Festival, Inc. hosted the 2025 Morganton Arts Design and Engineering (MADE) Competition on October 15th from 8am-5pm at the Collett Street Recreation Center. Area Middle and High School students were invited to compete throughout the day in the onsite engineering challenge.
Winning teams in both the middle and high school division received prize packages for 1st ($750) 2nd ($500) and 3rd ($250) place finishes. Prize packages totaling $3,000 went directly to the classroom to further technology education. In addition, each lead teacher (one per team) received a $250 stipend. All teams received a swag bag including items such a hat, candy, stickers, etc. On site snacks, breakfast and lunch were also provided. Thank you to BCPS for providing breakfast for the teams and Morganton Community House for lunch!
MADE is one of the most successful collaborations between education and industry partners. It gives Burke County students a chance to experience STEAM-based activities that build skills relevant to many of the area industries. MADE encourages students to think outside of the box and engages participants in critical thinking, design, engineering and innovation.
The Fall 2025 competition was generously supported by Work in Burke, City of Morganton, Burke County, Leviton, Opportunity Threads, Case Farms, Burke County Public Schools, TOSS, Western Piedmont Community College, KICKS 103.3 and NCSSM-Morganton.
2025 Challenge Winners
2025 MADE Rescue Robot Challenge Winners
| 2025 High School 1st Place – Jimmy C Draughn High School | 2025 Middle School 1st Place – East Burke Middle School |
| 2025 High School 2nd Place – Robert L Patton High School | 2025 Middle School 2nd Place – Morganton Day School |
| 2025 High School 3rd Place – Freedom High School | 2025 Middle School 3rd Place – New Dimensions Charter School |
Previous MADE Winners
2023 MADE Marble Rollercoaster Challenge Winners
| 2023 High School 1st Place ~ North Carolina School of Science and Math – Morganton | 2023 Middle School 1st Place ~ New Dimensions Charter School |
| 2023 High School 2nd Place ~ Patton High School | 2023 Middle School 2nd Place ~ Morganton Day School |
| 2023 High School 3rd Place ~ North Carolina School for the Deaf | 2023 Middle School 3rd Place ~ East Burke Middle School |
2022 MADE Assembly Line Challenge Winners
2022 High School 1st Place ~ Patton High School
2022 High School 2nd Place ~ North Carolina School of Science and Math – Morganton
2022 High School 3rd Place ~ Freedom High School
2022 Middle School 1st Place ~ Liberty Middle School
2022 Middle School 2nd Place ~ Heritage Middle School
2022 Middle School 3rd Place ~ East Burke Middle School
2021 MADE Rescue Robot Challenge Winners
2021 High School 1st Place ~ North Carolina School for the Deaf (130 points)
2021 High School 2nd Place ~ East Burke High School (120 points)
2021 High School 3rd Place ~ Draughn High School (95 points)
2021 Middle School 1st Place ~ East Burke Middle School (120 points)
2021 Middle School 2nd Place ~ Heritage Middle School (115 points)
2021 Middle School 3rd Place ~ Liberty Middle School (90 points)
Spring 2021 Lamp Design Challenge
Jasmine Velasquez, HS First Place
Zachary Heile, HS Popular Vote
David Socop, HS Second Place
Tie Barnes, HS Third Place
Hailey Snodgrass, HS Honorable Mention
Anna Cape, MS First Place and winner of the Popular Vote
Shelby Brittain, MS Second Place
Lilah Johnson, MS Third Place
Haiden Dale, MS Honorable Mention
2019 MADE Junkyard Challenge Winners
2019 High School 1st Place ~ Freedom High School Team 1
First Place Winners of the 2019 M.A.D.E. Junkyard Challenge
2019 High School 2nd Place ~ Patton High School
Second Place Winners of the 2019 M.A.D.E. Junkyard Challenge
2019 High School 3rd Place ~ Super Team
Third Place Winners of the 2019 M.A.D.E. Junkyard Challenge – Combination Team made up from all Burke County High Schools
2019 Middle School 1st Place ~ East Burke Middle School Team 2
First Place Winners of the 2019 M.A.D.E. Junkyard Challenge
2019 Middle School 2nd Place ~ East Burke Middle School Team 1
Second Place Winners of the 2019 M.A.D.E. Junkyard Challenge
2019 Middle School 3rd Place ~ Liberty Middle School
Third Place Winners of the 2019 M.A.D.E. Junkyard Challenge
2018 MADE “ECO Chair” Challenge Winners
Thank you to all of the M.A.D.E. Sponsors. This competition would not be possible without your support.
