Theo Jansen's astonishing kinetic sculptures

Theo Jansen creates "creatures" out of simple materials. Amazingly, with no electronics and no computer, he designs creatures that are programmed to anchor in high winds, move away from the water and who can store energy. Everything about this work is intriguing, however the whole video is perhaps a little long for a general Year Nine class. Watch it all yourself, however, and encourage students to follow up. You can discuss the idea of evolving design, the idea of self sufficient "creature" sculptures, how you program behaviour without a computer, even the idea of using absolutely basic material like PET bottles and electricians conduit. The leg action, common to all his creatures, is remarkable in itself (some nice mathematics here as well).