Give a group of high school and middle school students an assortment of parts and pieces, a challenge to design and build a functioning robot in eight weeks and you get BEST!
- FREE for schools to participate. There is no fee!
- All materials supplied to schools by the hub site at no charge.
- Only costs schools incur are for travel, lodging and meals.
- Any high school or middle school may participate (public, private or home school).
- One team per school.
- No limit on team size.
- Each school provided with:
- Identical kits of equipment and parts.
- A set of game rules.
- Eight weeks to design, build and test a robot to outperform the others.
- Students
- Perform all of the work.
- Are primary participants and benefactors.
- Mentors
- Engineers and other technical professionals from local industries.
- Serve as team guides and advisors through design and construction – however students do all work.
Robotics
- Each school fields a team and competes in three minute, round-robin matches.
- Teams must submit a Project Engineering Notebook describing Engineering Design Process used in the design of their robot.
BEST Award
The highest achievement in BEST (optional). The award includes:
- Robotics Competition and Project Engineering Notebook.
- Oral Presentation.
- Educational Exhibit.
- Spirit and Sportsmanship.
Program Events
- Kick-Off Day - the eight-week long "design-and-build" phase begins
- Playing field and game revealed.
- Learn game objectives and receive kit of robot parts.
- A representative must be present from every team.
- Practice Day
- Practice with robots on playing field.
- Receive technical help.
- Scope out competition.
- Make modifications.
- Game Day
- Compete.
- Present.
- Display educational exhibit.
- Have a lot of fun!
- Winners of robotics competition and BEST Award advance to a Regional Championship in Denver.
- Regional Championship - Winning teams in Mid-West compete for regional title
- Practice with robots on playing field.
- Receive technical help.
- Scope out competition.
- Make modifications.
Start a Team
Each school can enter only one team in the competition, but there is no limit to the number of students that can participate on each team. Schools are accepted on a first come, first served basis. What does your school need to participate?
- Advisor/primary point of contact — a person, probably from the school system, to coordinate the efforts of the team.
- Workspace — an area with basic workshop tools.
- Mentors — individuals from the area who are willing to help the students with their robot project. Mentors can be engineers, skilled workers or anyone with a desire to help students learn and solve problems.
- Funding — there is no cost to the school to enter the competition. The teams only need funds to cover the cost of the required travel to and from Brookings.
- Interest — a group of students interested in building a robot, designing a team exhibit, organizing an engineering notebook and/or delivering a marketing presentation.
To ask questions about the program, visit the BEST Robotics Inc. . For more information about the national organization, visit .