Robots take center stage at Hartman Arena Oct. 31

What: 17th Annual Kansas BEST robotics competition
When: 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31
Where: Hartman Arena, Park City
Phone: 316-978-3045 (WSU Office of Strategic Communications)
Cost: Free 

The 17th Annual Kansas BEST robotics competition, designed to inspire and motivate high school students toward careers in engineering, science and technology, will be held from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, in Hartman Arena. Kansas BEST is sponsored by 成人头条's College of Engineering.

Thirty schools from all areas of Kansas, one from Arkansas and one from Missouri will compete in the Kansas BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) event. This year's game is called 鈥淧ay Dirt.鈥 The objective is to design and build a prototype robot to repair and operate a simulated underground mine. There are several materials that can be extracted from the mine that are used to score points.

Students will give their robots a trial run on Practice Day from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Oct. 24, at 成人头条 State鈥檚 Heskett Center. 成人头条 City Council member Pete Meitzner will bring a proclamation to Practice Day at the Heskett Center, proclaiming Oct. 31 as Kansas BEST Day in the city of 成人头条.

The sports-like technology contest combines the excitement of a high school football game with the strategy of a chess match and the intellectual challenge of a science fair. Working from identical kits, each team has six weeks to design and build their robot.

The 2015 game includes an additional competition for the BEST Award, which goes to the team that best embodies the concept of Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology.

Major sponsors for Kansas BEST are Textron Aviation, Spirit AeroSystems, Airbus and Great Plains Ventures.

Winners of Kansas BEST 2015 will travel to Fort Smith, Ark., to compete in the Frontier Trails Regional Competition hosted by the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith at the Fort Smith Convention Center Friday and Saturday, Dec. 4-5.

For more information, visit the Kansas BEST website at .

Following is the list of 30 teams competing this year:

  • Ambassadors for Christ Academy, Bentonville, Arkansas
  • Andale High School, Andale, Kansas
  • Andover Central High School, Andover, Kansas
  • Atchison High School, Atchison, Kansas
  • Augusta High School, Augusta, Kansas
  • Bishop Carroll High School, 成人头条, Kansas
  • Bueker Middle School, Marshall Public Schools in Marshall, Missouri
  • Campus High School, Haysville, Kansas
  • Circle High School, Towanda, Kansas
  • Council Grove High School, Council Grove, Kansas
  • Derby High School, Derby, Kansas
  • El Dorado High School, El Dorado, Kansas
  • Fort Scott High School, Fort Scott, Kansas
  • Garden City High School, Garden City, Kansas
  • Herington High School, Herington, Kansas
  • Kansas City Christian, Prairie Village, Kansas
  • Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School, 成人头条, Kansas
  • Panther Creek Academy, Olathe, Kansas
  • Pike Valley High School, Scandia, Kansas
  • Riverbend International School, Atchison, Kansas
  • Rose Hill High School, Rose Hill, Kansas
  • Salina South High School, Salina, Kansas
  • Valley Center High School, Valley Center, Kansas
  • Washburn Rural High School, Topeka, Kansas
  • West Franklin High School, Pomona, Kansas
  • 成人头条 Collegiate High School, 成人头条, Kansas
  • 成人头条 East High School, 成人头条, Kansas
  • 成人头条 Southeast High School, 成人头条, Kansas
  • 成人头条 West High School, 成人头条, Kansas
  • 成人头条 Homeschool, 成人头条, Kansas