The 2007 southwestern PA BattleBots IQ competition was held Saturday, March 3, at Century III Mall. A total of 185 students from 16 schools participated in the gladiator-style competition. Plum High School took first place honors, while Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center, took second place.

BattleBots IQ, the "smart sport," is based on the BattleBots TV series. Homemade, remote-controlled robots squared-off in competition. It made for good television and a fan-base grew with each season. Among the avid followers, producers noticed a great number of students who not only enjoyed the show, but wanted to get in on the action. BattleBots IQ was born. Show creators put together a Robotics Curriculum based on the National Curriculum Standards and Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) mechanical engineering methodology, Teacher Training, and a National Competition where students showcase their custom built robots and compete for top honors.

Seeing the impact of BattleBots IQ in other parts of the US, a group of manufacturers and educators got together to explore the idea of a BattleBots IQ program in southwestern Pennsylvania. The idea took off and quickly evolved into a pilot program involving six area career and technology centers.

Students love BattleBots IQ because it makes education fun--drawing on their knowledge of math, science, engineering, and even public speaking. Educators love BattleBots IQ because of the enthusiasm it sparks in their students and the resources it provides to their classroom. But, it's the manufacturing industry that is standing behind this new sport because of the potential impact it has on business. Young people who are interested in how things are made are the future of the high-tech manufacturing workforce.

Other winners from the 2007 competition included:

The Private Industry Council, as well as other education, government, and industry representatives, assisted in the coordination of the competition.

Additional information and photographs are posted on the southwestern PA BattleBots IQ website at www.botsiqpa.org.