Edina Robotics Team 1816, The Green Machine is happy to have participated in the Edina School District’s “Hats off to Edina!” open house at the high school on Sunday, April 22nd. Positioned in the high school’s newly expanded Commons, visitors were able to watch team-produced videos of this year’s and last year’s robots in action. Guests were also were given the opportunity to operate the robot from last year, as the one from this year had not yet returned from the Championship in Atlanta. Many teachers and administrators from the district showed up to watch and drive the robot; even Dr. Ric Dressen, Edina’s superintendent of schools, took a turn at the controls. Aside from a few instances of driving the robot into the wall – and a few close encounters off-the-carpet from overzealous young controllers, in the end no one was hurt. Besides watching and operating the 2006 robot, visitors were encouraged to page through the photo album the team submitted for this year’s Chairman’s Award, see up-close the team’s awards from regional and national competitions, as well as learn about FIRST Robotics and Edina’s recent activities from team members on hand. The Green Machine now looks forward to moving into new workshop space and meeting room at Edina High School!
