The 24th annual Kansas BEST robotics competition, designed to inspire and motivate high school students toward careers in engineering, science and technology, will be held from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, in Charles Koch Arena at Wichita State University.

The event is sponsored by WSU's College of Engineering, and admission is free.

The BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) competition challenges students to build a remote-controlled robot that accomplishes a defined task within a competitive setting. Professional engineers and teachers volunteer to coach teams through the engineering design process.

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. Using only the materials in the BEST-provided kits, students have eight weeks to design, develop and test a robot that can outperform their competitors. The weeks of hard work culminate in a spirited, day-long competition held annually every fall.

Participation in Kansas BEST is free, thanks to sponsorship by Army ROTC, Textron Aviation, Spirit Aerosystems and the WSU College of Engineering. All equipment is provided to participating teams. The only cost to teams is their transportation to events.

Nineteen schools from Kansas will compete in the Kansas event. This year's game is called "Made 2 Order,” and the theme is order fulfillment. The robots are challenged to complete the final assembly of a parts-picking robot and operation of that robot. 

• Osage City High School
• Berean Academy
• Council Grove High School
• Circle High School
• Washburn Rural High School
• Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School
• Garden City High School
• Rock Creek Jr./Sr. High School
• Atchison High School
• USD 394 Rose Hill High School
• Wichita Homeschool
• Ellinwood High School
• Stafford Middle/High School
• USD 214 Ulysses
• USD 400 Smoky Valley High School
• Wichita Collegiate High School
• Valley Center High School
• Canton-Galva High School
• Minneapolis Jr/Sr High School

Six teams will be asked to represent Kansas in the Denver BEST Regional Championship on Dec. 3 and 4 at the Colorado School of Mines.

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Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling almost 22,000 students between its main campus and WSU Tech, including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student centered and innovation driven.

Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students.

The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.

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