Sept. 2, The Becker High School Robotics Team 4607 attended the "Great Minnesota Get Together" with the goal of educating people on the topic of robotics. The small crew of students (Kami Ziebarth, Jessie Charbonneau, and Owen Houghton) was one of many teams from around the state to demonstrate their robots in the Education Building during the course of the Minnesota State Fair.

 

Throughout the day there were three different demonstrations where Becker partnered with another team, with events ranging from 15 to 30 minutes long. During these times, each team was challenged to a different game.  The Becker team first showed how their robot functioned when it came to this past season's competition by stacking totes, followed by a challenging maneuver that required parking in a small space and a game of “tag” around a central object.  Becker’s “Darth Convader” 2015 competition robot performed very well at this particular challenge due to its ability to move in all directions at high speed.

 

While these demonstrations were taking place, a short interview with a student from each team was conducted.  The questions related to the past season of game play and the overall functionality of the team. The main purpose of the demonstration and interview was to educate the crowd on the idea of robotics, which sparked audience questions and comments on what FIRST® Robotics has done in our community, team members said.

 

Before our demonstration, Team 4607 had submitted their robot for judging and received the first place trophy. The team was “incredibly honored” to receive such an award and expressed thanks to their sponsors for giving them the opportunity to have this fun day at the state fair, according to Coach Alex Jurek.