General Questions
- What can I do to prepare myself and my students for the Botball Program?
- Our school would like to participate in Botball, but I have no computer programming experience. Will our team be at a disadvantage?
- How do we get a mentor?
- Is financial assistance available?
- Who can attend the Educator’s Workshop?
- How much is the registration fee and what does it include?
- How many students can be on a team?
- Can my team play even it it’s not associated with a school?
Q: What can I do to prepare myself and my students for the Botball program?
A: Here are some things you might try in preparation for the Botball season:
- Visit our orientation website
- A good introductory book on mobile robots similar to the type of robots used in Botball is: Mobile Robots: From Inspiration to Implementation
- The robots will be programmed using a subset of the C computer language. Most bookstores have a large selection of introductory C programming texts.
- Students will be using Interactive C to program the robots. You can download the IC software for free in advance.
- If you have a Botball kit from the 2006 or 2007 season or an XBC Robot Starter Kit, your team may wish to check out the archived NASA Robotics Web Course. The Web Course features Botball equipment and programming in IC and should provide some good “getting started” activities.
A: Programming is done in the C language - more specifically, Interactive C (IC). Team leaders need not have prior experience with programming languages as programming basics are reviewed at the Educator’s Workshop and sample code is provided.
A: KISS Institute works to recruit as many mentors as possible. We do our best to accommodate all requests, but often do not have the volunteers necessary to mentor all teams. We do encourage teams to look to their local community for professionals in technical fields and engineering. Your sponsors often have individuals who wish to give of their time.
Q: Is financial assistance available?
A: Yes, it is. For more information on our scholarship policy visit our scholarship page.
Q: Who can attend the Educator’s Workshop?
A: Each team is entitled to bring up to 3 people to the Educator’s Workshop. One must be an educator, the other 2 may be educators, students, or mentors. (If you have more than one team, there must be at least one adult per group of three attendees).
Q: How much is the registration fee and what does it include?
A: The all-inclusive registration fee is $2,500 and includes:
- Participation in the Educator’s Workshop for up to 3 people
- A complete, reusable robotics kit including Lego and electronics
- Software and software licenses
- Game and workshop documentation
- Technical support
- Tournament participation for your entire team including 10 regional Botball t-shirts
Q: How many students can be on a team?
A: There is no minimum or maximum number of students per team. Typically, teams are made up of 10-15 students.
Q: Can my team play even if it’s not associated with a school?
A: Yes! Any team of middle or high school aged students is eligible to participate as long as they have an adult team leader. Some teams are organized through clubs such as 4H or Girls Inc. Others are community teams that are made up of a group of students who are home schooled or whose schools are not participating.