New BEST Kits Arriving

It's summer time and that means it is time for us to reorder kits and parts for the upcoming BEST season. Over the next several weeks stacks of boxes, like these, will be the norm around our office. What is inside? New returnable kits and spare parts, including batteries and motors.

This shipment is provided thanks to a grant from the Missile Defense Agency, which provided $5,550 to purchase 6 new kits and related supplies. Thanks to MDA STEM Outreach for their support of BEST Robotics and other STEM initiatives!

These new kits and supplies will be put to good use on September 21 at Kickoff.

2013 South's BEST Dates Announced

Auburn University and BEST Robotics, Inc. has announced the 2013 dates for South's BEST. The two-day championship event will be held at the Auburn Arena on December 7-8, 2013. Winners from each of the hubs east of the Mississippi will compete.

Last year, teams from Fyffe High School and Marshall Technical School represented Northeast Alabama BEST.

Will your team be there in 2013?

Summer STEM Experience Concludes Friday at 5 pm

The 2013 Summer STEM Experience will conclude Friday, June 7 at 5:00 pm. Parents, friends, and relatives are invited to visit the Industrial Systems Technology Center at Northeast Alabama Community College to learn what students have been doing this week.

In addition, a video of photos taken during the week has been posted to this site's video gallery and photos are shown on the Photo page.

Thanks to all for a great week!

Keep an eye on this website for additional photos and information about the week.

Summer STEM Experience: Day Two

The 2013 NACC Summer STEM Experience started yesterday. The students studying robotics this week opened their kits after lunch. These pictures were taken today just after lunch. They have made tremendous progress.

While these robots are not exactly like those used in BEST, the control systems are very similar, and anything they learn in these camps will apply to BEST.

The 2013 Summer STEM Experience is Underway!

We are excited that the 2013 Summer STEM Experience is underway! This morning, 24 students in grades 7-10 converged on the Industrial Systems Technology Center at Northeast Alabama Community College to spend a week experiencing robots and manufacturing.

The morning was filled with orientation: icebreakers, a discussion of entrepreneurism, an interactive lesson on manufacturing careers, and a safety briefing. This afternoon students will be building robots, learning technical drawing and precision measurement skills, and getting their first introduction to the machine shop. Look for us to post photos during the week.