MHS 2009 BEST Team Placed 5th in State
33 Teams Participated

This years BEST (BEST: Boosting Engineering Science and Technology) team consists of Tristan Brandt, Josh Smith, Jacob Smith, Cody Schaefer, Chris Rice, Michala Shaklee, Bryan Fankhauser, and Jason Brewer.  We are hard at work constructing a robot capable of picking up different sized balls and cans that represent the raw materials needed to build isooctane.  “The objective is for teams to collect and employ common molecules (CO₂, H₂O) and essential resources (energy, catalysts) to complete a series of chemical reactions” (BEST Robotics, Inc.).

For example:  C₆H₆ + C₂H₄ + 4H₂ + Energy + Catalyst -> C₈H₁₈ (isooctane)

Inventory collected by the robot carries over for use in other equations.   

Kansas BEST is a six week robotics program where the students receive a problem to solve and a kit of materials with which to build a robot.  There are approximately thirty teams from all over the state competing.  During the six weeks of the competition they will work with mentors (Warren Brandt, Aaron Luthi, Brad Cummings and Donette Biggs) who provide guidance and advice on how to brainstorm and apply problem solving strategies to construct their robot.  There is a practice competition held at Town East Mall in Wichita on October 31^st.  The following week the actual competition takes place at Koch Arena on the Wichita State Campus. 
            Anyone interested in more information regarding BEST can contact Brian Bartlett or Martie Helm at the High School.