Windsor — An upcoming celebration of modern manufacturing hopes to inspire the next generation to join the sector, which, despite having taken huge hits due to outsourcing, is struggling to fill jobs.

Organized by the American Precision Museum, Upper Valley Manufacturing Week — Oct. 10-14 — is among more than 2,400 events planned across the country this year as part of Manufacturing Day. The national event, held the first Friday in October, will also highlight the museum in a short high-energy film made for the occasion.

Part of the museum’s workforce development efforts, the Upper Valley activities connect classes from area schools with manufacturing companies in the region.

Like manufacturing companies throughout the country, “our region is experiencing challenges” in finding workers to fill positions, a news release from the Windsor museum said.

Approximately 7,000 people in the Upper Valley work in manufacturing, according to a workforce needs assessment by Green Mountain Economic Development Corp. Average annual wages are $40,000 or $60,000, depending on the region.

For Manufacturing Week, the museum acts as a go-between for schools and businesses, which often wind up scheduling activities later in the year, Kris Garnjost, the museum’s visitor services manager, said in a telephone interview.

“Manufacturing Week is really a catalyst to get people thinking about it,” Garnjost said.

Last year, more than 500 students from middle schools, high schools and technical centers toured manufacturing sites or met in their classrooms with company representatives to explore careers in the field, according to the release. Participants have included international companies, such as Hypertherm and Timken, and New England-based businesses, such as Whelen Engineering and North Hartland Tool Corp.

Getting to work with a plasma cutter at Hypertherm is “a pretty exciting thing,” for kids, Garnjost said. “ ‘Look at what this thing can do’ ” leads to, “ ‘What else can this do?’ And in my mind, that’s what’s really exciting.”

This year, schools in Hartford, Cornish, Windsor and Lebanon are expected to participate, he said.

The film featuring the museum is part of the free resource kit available from Manufacturing Day’s national organizers. “Their goals — to change perceptions of today’s manufacturing environment and highlight career opportunities, fit naturally with the mission of the American Precision Museum,” the release said.

The eight-minute long film American Ingenuity looks at mid-19th century manufacturing innovations created at the Robbins & Lawrence Armory, now home to the museum, and “traces how those good ideas and others, implemented by talented designers, makers and engineers, (including today’s student innovators), transformed our thinking and continue to challenge us as we shape the future,” the release said.

A longer version of the film features participants in a museum program tackling a real-life problem in which Windsor High School students built a submersible drone to monitor the condition of the town-owned Ascutney Mill Dam, which is just up the street from Town Hall.

Normally, divers would have to monitor the dam, Tom Marsh, Windsor’s town manager, said in a telephone interview. The town may still need divers, but the drone will be “really helpful,” particularly in checking for sedimentation.

Hiring a dive crew costs between $500 and $1,000, Marsh said, so using the robot could save the town money.

The longer film and more information about Upper Valley Manufacturing Week are available on the museum’s website, americanprecision.org.

Aimee Caruso can be reached at acaruso@vnews.com or 603-727-3210.