Mindstorms and Contests (Score 1)

Lego Mindstorm kits are a good way to go, since they require very little to set up, and the graphical programming language is easy to use; there are plenty more advances programming interfaces(nqc, pbforth, legos, and lejos) for the next level student.

Another good option is to enter some of the various robotic competitions (http://www.rec.ri.cmu.edu/education/Robotics%20Co mpetitions.shtml/).