This is our eleventh year to compete in BEST Robotics. We are a highly trained company that has won the BEST award 8 times. We are comprised of junior and senior high school students, with 15 male engineers and 5 female. We're fortunate, because of our team size, to have the necessary time to devote to researching technologies and coming up with ground-breaking solutions to the world's problems. Our unique organizational structure and strong leadership team give us a distinct advantage in the insect retrival market.
BEST Robotics Inc. (BRI) is a non-profit, volunteer organization based in Dallas, TX. Started in 1993 with 14 competing schools and 221 students, today BEST has over 700 middle and high schools and over 10,000 students participating each fall. BEST's mission is to inspire students to pursue careers in engineering, science, and technology through participation in a sports-like, science and engineering-based robotics competition.
BEST features two parallel competitions: A robotics game, which is based upon an annual theme with four teams competing at once in a series of three-minute, round-robin matches. The BEST Award, which is presented to the team that best embodies the concept of Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology. Elements include a project summary notebook, oral presentation, table display, and spirit and sportsmanship. Each school is provided kits of equipment and parts, a set of game rules, and given six weeks to design, build, and test a small Radio/Controlled (R/C) robot that outperforms other robots. Winning teams from local competition sites (called “hubs") advance to regional championship sites (“regionals"). Engineers and other technical professionals from local industries serve as team mentors who advise and guide students through the design and construction of their machines.
So you are thinking about getting involved, GOOD! BEST Robotics has proven to be a fun and effective way to learn engineering, science, and technology. Students are energized by the competition and teachers have numerous opportunities to reinforce basic physics and engineering principals. Each year the game theme is designed to move students toward new areas of learning. There are also many areas for students to participate besides the robot design and construction: displays, photography, graphic design, public speaking, technical writing, and so on. We encourage you to join an existing team, or to start a team of your own.
We think you can start a team with the following:
After you have a team, contact the nearest Hub (local competition organization) and ask them for information on how to join. A list of Hubs is available from links at www.BESTinc.org. They also have information about starting a new Hub if you have several potential teams in an area currently not participating in BEST Robotics. Finally, other teams may be willing to mentor your team as it starts out. The Woodlands Homeschoolers have created and mentored teams in previous years. Contact us if you would like more information about how to get started, and we will get back with you.
BEST wishes! The Woodlands Homeschoolers.
