A nation-wide robotics competition for middle and high school students will take place at Penn State DuBois on Oct. 19-20, 2018.
DUBOIS, Pa. — A nation-wide robotics competition for middle and high school students will take place at Penn State DuBois, and all interested spectators from the public are invited to attend. The BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) robotics competition will take place from 4 until 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 19, and continuing from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20.
The games will take place in the campus gymnasium, with Penn State DuBois serving as a local hub for the competition.
Teams participating in this year’s BEST at Penn State DuBois are DuBois Area High School, Clearfield County Career and Technology Center, Redbank Valley High School, St. Marys Area High School, Brockway Area High School, Cranberry Area School District, Oil City School District, The Tatnall School, and Mentor Christian School.
BEST provides all necessary parts and equipment for teams to build a robot that they can use to run a course and perform specified tasks. The robot must be built within a six-week time frame. On the days of the contest, all teams will run the course, competing for the best times and course completion. Through participation in this project-based program, students learn to analyze and solve problems utilizing the Engineering Design Process, which helps them develop technological literacy skills. The goal is to better prepare these students for further education and careers in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
The learning opportunities with BEST don't stop at STEM fields, however — teams also compete and receive awards for other areas of the project, which include marketing, exhibition, sportsmanship and team spirit.
Winners of BEST at Penn State DuBois will advance to the Northern Plains BEST Regional Championships, to be held Nov. 27-28 at the Carnegie Science Center and Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. More information can be found at http://dubois.psu.edu/best.
Penn State DuBois BEST 2018 is made possible by Diamond Level sponsor, Miller Fabrication Solutions, Silver Level sponsors, Atlas Pressed Metals and Comtec Manufacturing, Inc., and Bronze Level sponsor, Eastern Sintered Alloys, Inc.
