Owls win first prize in local parade

By: Valkyrie Clark

Rainy River held it’s annual Christmas Parade on November 29th. Out of the fifteen floats, the Rainy River High School had the winning float.
The Owl’s float was designed by Rainy River’s own Tech Club. Dave Thompson, a local science teacher, organized a group of student who were interested in technology design. Nine boys decided that they would enjoy just such a club, and joined; President Conor Johnson, Vice President Mark Heyens, Jay Neilson, Matt McQuaker, Dustin Mowe, Lloyd Mason, Matt Neilson, Dan O’Connell, and Tristan Armstrong.
These boys designed the whole idea for the Owl on the RRHS float. However, they worked together with the grade nine business technology class and the grade twelve physics class to create the giant bird.
The Owl was designed as a robot and was supposed to light up and mechanically move by itself, but time was short, and corners were cut. It ended up being run by pure human power, but was still spectacular to see.
This float was made of wood, straw, and other recycled materials. It took about 30 hours to make, but everyone had fun. Whether they were painting banners for the float or constructing the float themselves, everyone did a great job and was rewarded with first prize.
The hundred dollar first prize that was won will be going to future robotic parts for the tech club’s next adventure. This adventure is a secret from everyone outside of this club though.
“I was very enthused with the interest that was shown in the area of robotics and technology as displayed by the building of our first moving object, an animated owl”, Thompson commented.