Theo Jansen’s amazing, wind-walking Strandbeest (featured in my story the Man Who Sold the Moon) can be had as a 6-inch-cubed snap-together, 80-piece, chunky “rhino” kit: assemble and blow on it and it will walk across your desk with the odd majesty of the Strandbeest.
There’s also a classic version at the same price.
On Holland’s beaches you don’t have to worry about getting your stuff nicked or sunburn as much as you have to worry about being trampled by a runaway Strandbeest. Okay, not really (but that would look awesome in an obituary). Although Theo Jansen’s “new life forms” are wondrous, there’s also something amazingly creepy about them. Maybe it’s the combination of organic and robotic that’s giving us a slight uncanny-valley feeling? Ah. We’re probably overthinking it. We, for one, welcome our new Strandbeest overlords.
,P>
Build your own mini-version of Theo Jansen’s Animaris Rhinoceros Transport with this kit. Containing over 80 parts, it snaps together in just over an hour and a half and produces a Mini-Beest whose size is about a 6″ cube. Blow on it, and it’ll take off on its own, exploring your desk.
