We’re talking about Manufacturing Day, described on the organizer’s website as a “national grassroots movement that demonstrates the reality and future of modern manufacturing careers.” And while manufacturing may no longer lead the nation in total employment as it did in Henry Ford’s time, it remains one of the most productive and strategically vital sectors of the U.S. economy—contributing nearly $3 trillion to GDP, employing more than 13 million Americans, and keeping the country secure, supplied and strong. That’s why hundreds of high schools, vocational-technical colleges, Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers, and—perhaps most importantly—machine shops, sheet metal fabricators, plastic injection molders and other members of this proud industry open their doors on the first Friday of October each year to students, parents and educators for MFG Day, a celebration of modern manufacturing and the people who make it possible. Manufacturing Day: Inspiring the Next Generation of Makers | Manufacturing Week | advancedmanufacturing.org