For High Schools and Middle Schools Steven J. Maier AAPT Summer Meeting Ann Arbor, MI 2009 Robotics

6 Weeks, 3 Minutes and Every Year is Different On “KickOff,” teams are provided free of charge – Game Rules and schematics – Returnable Kit R/C equipment, BRAIN controller, batteries, chargers, etc. – Consumable Kit Stock metal, wood, hardware, wire, etc. – Workshop Kit (optional; varies per hub) Soldering iron, robot building books, tools

Kit Materials

“Mall” Day 4 – 5 weeks following KickOff, student teams can practice on the game field – At a nearby mall or other site – Teams competing for the BEST Award complete additional components of competition Engineering notebook, table display

Game Day Three minute rounds 8-matches Round robin format Oral presentations Winning teams at local hubs advance to regional competition – Texas BEST (Dallas, TX) – South’s BEST (Auburn, AL) – Frontier Trails BEST (Ft. Smith, AR) Local hubs usually provide teams a travel stipend (anywhere from $200 - $2,000 per team)

The BEST “Catch” Only students do the work – No 2 nd or 3 rd party fabrication – Mentors help students learn how to fabricate and work with raw materials All teams work with the same constraints – Same rules – Same bill of materials – Only 6 weeks Teachers are “coaches” facilitating team meetings – Teams set goals and the teacher guides/provides resources as needed – Teams may have mentors from the area to help the coaches BEST is to remain free for its participants

$$$ BEST Robotics Inc. is a grass roots volunteer-based non-profit organization Local hubs raise funds annually to host competition and materials costs – New hub ~$24,000 – Established hub ~$12,000 Teams, students, teachers, parents, districts only pay travel and ancillary expenses – t-shirts, buttons, giveaways, etc.

Scale of BEST Over 30 local hubs – 8 to 30+ teams per hub – 5 to 30+ students per team 3 regional hubs (no national)

Opportunities Service Learning – Currently pursuing a 3000-level course for pre-service science teachers and STEM majors Outreach – May be part of institution’s mission... – Accessibility to applied physics/engineering courses Research – BEST is a lot of work, a lot of fun, but no published research has yet to confirm its effectiveness as purported by its volunteers... Recruiting – Students (in higher ed) – Students (this might be the enthusiastic atmosphere for your science clubs you’ve been looking for!) – Area STEM teachers

Thank You! Questions? Contact me! Whether you are interested in forming a team, a new hub, or setting up a study of BEST... – – BRI’s main page –