Robots to take center stage at Hartman Arena Oct. 25 Robots to take center stage at Hartman Arena Oct. 25

Media are invited to attend the 16th Annual Kansas BEST robotics competition, designed to inspire and motivate high school students toward careers in engineering, science and technology, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25, in Hartman Arena. Kansas BEST is sponsored by Wichita State University's College of Engineering.

Results will be available immediately after the event upon request. If you'd like the results Saturday afternoon, call Joe Kleinsasser, WSU director of news and media relations, at 316-978-3013 or joe.kleinsasser@wichita.edu. You also can leave messages for him Saturday on his cell phone at 316-204-8266.

Twenty-three schools from Kansas and one from Arkansas will compete in the Kansas BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) event. This year's game is called "Blade Runner."

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 2014 game includes an additional competition for the BEST Award to the team that best embodies the concept of Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology.

Following is the list of 24 teams competing this year: Ambassadors for Christ Academy (Bentonville, Ark.), Andale High School, Andover Central High School, Atchison High School, Augusta High School, Campus High School, Circle High School, Council Grove High School, Derby High School, El Dorado High School, Garden City High School, Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School, Pike Valley High School, Riverbend International School, Rose Hill High School, Salina South High School, Valley Center High School, Washburn Rural High School, West Franklin High School, Wichita Collegiate High School, Wichita East High School, Wichita Southeast High School, Wichita West High School and Wichita Home School.

Winners of Kansas BEST 2014 will travel to Fort Smith, Ark., to compete in the Frontier Trails Regional Competition hosted by the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith at the Fort Smith Convention Center Friday and Saturday, Dec. 5-6.

For more information, visit the Kansas BEST website at www.wichita.edu/kansasbest.
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Contact: Joe Kleinsasser at 316-978-3013, (cell) 316-204-8266 or joe.kleinsasser@wichita.edu.