The 10th Annual Kansas BEST robotics competition, designed to inspire and motivate high school students toward careers in engineering, science and technology, will be held from 8:45 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, in Wichita State's Charles Koch Arena.

2008 Kansas BEST

Thirty high schools and organizations from Arkansas and all areas of Kansas will compete in Kansas BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) event. This year's game is called "Just Plane Crazy."

Students will give their robots a trial run on Practice Day from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Heskett Center at WSU.

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 had six weeks to design and build their robot.

The 2008 game includes an additional competition for the BEST Award to the team that best embodies the concept of Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology.

The teams competing this year are: Ambassadors for Christ Academy, Andale High School, Andover Central High School, Baldwin High School, Blue Valley High School, Buhler High School, Campus High School, Circle High School, Collegiate Upper School, Concordia High School, Decatur Community High School, Goddard High School, Hutchinson Tech Center, Independence High School, Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School, Lawrence High School, Madison High School, Maize High School, Mulvane High School, Northeast Magnet High School, Panther Creek Academy, Rose Hill High School, Sunrise Christian Academy, The Independent School, Topeka High School, Washburn Rural, Valley Center High School, Wichita Southeast High School, Wichita West High School and Wichita HomeSchool.

Winners of Kansas BEST 2008 will travel to Fort Smith, Ark., to compete in the Frontier Trails Regional Competition at the University of Arkansas Dec. 5-6.

Kansas BEST is made possible with the support of the following sponsors: Cessna Aircraft Co., Hawker Beechcraft Corp., LSI Corp., The Boeing Co., Spirit AeroSystems, Bombardier Learjet, Cargill, Great Plains Ventures Inc., igus Inc., Solid Works, AIAA-Wichita Section, The Hangar, the Heskett Center, Susan Burdick Graphic Design and Illustration and the WSU College of Engineering.

For more information, visit the Kansas BEST Web site www.kansasbest.org.