Theo Jansen & Strandbeest – presented by RISD/Brown STEAM

Theo Jansen is a Dutch polymath who began an investigation in 1990 building large wind-powered mechanisms out of electrical conduit pipe that are able to traverse beaches. These creatures, called strandbeest are a fusion of art and engineering. He once said in a BMW advertisement, “the walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds.” Theo sees himself as a mechanism through which these beasts evolve and develop, just as animals in nature do through reproduction.

The event is free and open to the public, but there are a limited number of seats, so get ’em while they’re hot! To register, visit the event page.

If you would like to get involved on a deeper level, there are two workshops coming up that you can participate in creating strandbeests, which will be shown to Jansen himself on his visit. As a reminder, here are the dates and times of those events:

Workshop 1 – Creating the pieces
Saturday, November 8
BDW, Barus and Holley
10am-1pm

Workshop 2 – Assembling the pieces
Saturday, November 15
RISD ID Building 3rd floor
10am-1pm

Presented by RISD STEAM, Brown STEAM, RISD Government Relations, and RISD Programming Board.