Twenty-one high school students across Weld County engaged in a thrilling week of STEM challenges, from bridge building to robot programming, culminating in a fierce battle for the coveted championship trophy.
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Aims B.E.S.T. Competition: Where Teamwork and Technology Collide
July 25, 2024
The Aims Industrial Technology program hosted its third annual Aims B.E.S.T. (Battle of Energy, Science and Technology) competition from July 15-18.
This program allows high school students to participate in a team-based event where they compete in different STEM-based challenges, including those related to civil engineering, aeronautics and robotics. The team that performed the best was named Aims B.E.S.T. champion for 2024.
Aims Chair and Instructor of Industrial Technologies and Energy Studies, Dave Sordi, thinks of the competition like the Triwizard Tournament in the novel “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” He explains two essential differences between the challenge described in the story and the B.E.S.T. program. “Instead of selecting an individual to participate, students work as a team,” Sordi said. “Those teams who work best together will be the most successful.” He also acknowledges, “No magic is involved, sorry.”
2024 B.E.S.T. Competition
On Monday, students formed teams and explored the Aims Greeley Campus. Participants also began the first competition of the week, bridge building. Teams construct bridges using unconventional materials like toothpicks, straws, marshmallows, and more to understand the complexities of design under static and dynamic loads and wind shear. The goals were to create bridges that span at least two feet and could hold at least two pounds for one minute without collapsing. The competition aimed to introduce the concepts of teamwork, force distribution, and the innovative use of diverse materials in construction.
On the second day, B.E.S.T. featured an activity demonstrating DNA extraction and methane generation. The competitive event of the day focused on a Shark Tank-like activity to pitch an invention to improve agriculture. Students learned about automated milking machines and, as a group, developed ideas for improving their operation. The teams presented their ideas to a group of judges.
The teams also participated in assembling a windmill from a kit and making minor adjustments to optimize electricity production. The highest electricity output determined the winner, demonstrating the practical application and importance of innovative engineering in sustainable energy solutions.
To equip students with essential robotics skills, teams built and programmed robots using mBot Ultimate kits from MakeBlock. The event focused on introducing participants to the versatile world of robotics, offering them hands-on experience in constructing and coding robots to perform specific tasks.
B.E.S.T. participants took part in a scavenger hunt on the Aims campus. Universities such as MIT, Yale, Princeton, Johns Hopkins and Arizona State hold annual scavenger hunts that require participants to decipher clues to progress through the hunt. These clues relate to history, science, math, engineering and others. They require participants to have knowledge of these topics and be able to use critical thinking to decode the clues.
The last event was a paper airplane competition that delved into the intricate science and engineering principles underpinning airplane design, such as materials science, physics, aerodynamics, friction, and gravity. Participants synergistically applied their understanding of these disciplines to create a paper airplane that excelled in distance and accuracy.
The competition concluded with the winner's announcement — the team that completed the most challenges successfully in the shortest time, showcasing their prowess in robotics construction and more. Winning team members received aardvark trophies and recognition for their accomplishments. An award was also given to the most valuable teammate.
Once the students complete the camp, they can explore Industrial Technology in more depth at Aims with the following:
- Associate Degree in Industrial Technology
- Certificates
- Basic Automation and Maintenance
- Advanced Automation
- Advanced Maintenance
- Energy Certificate
- Manufacturing Operations
- Robotics
Join Us Next Year
Space is limited and registration is conducted on a first-come, first-served basis for those entering ninth through 12th grade. There is no cost for students to attend. For more information and to register, please visit aims.co/BEST. Registration for the 2025 program begins in February.
