You guys want to see something cool?

BEHOLD!

This is an Animaris Gubernare, a “species” of Strandbeest created by sculptor/inventor/badass Theo Jansen.

Hailing from the Netherlands, Mr. Jansen has been creating these wind-powered, PVC-boned creatures since 1990. He developed a leg system that, from what I can gleam from his explanations, works like a system of gear-like movements that drive the large number of legs up, forward, and down—always with some of the legs keeping in contact with the ground—propelling the creatures across the beach. Once he had an idea of how he wanted the legs to function, he developed a computer model that assessed various rod ratios in the legs to determine which ratios would be best for the “ideal walking curve”, as he put it. Each iteration of attempts resulted in a new generation of beests. He calls this “evolution.” How freaking cool is this guy?

Read about Mr. Jansen, the beests, and his methods here. I really like how this guy describes his process:

“Usually there are only one or two animals living at one time. As soon as the development of an animal is at its end, I declare it extinct and I push it onto the bone yard. The animals there can be seen as the fossils of extinct species. Exposure to sun and rain causes the tubes to fade, making these appear more bonelike with time. The sandpit is the pre-heaven for the beach animals. They are not yet ready to survive the real beach. I still have to train them. Usually I take them out once a year to the real beach to let them get a taste of their natural environment.”

He’s also got kits for sale from which you can build your own “mini beest.” I think it’d be cool to get one, just to see in person how the leg system is constructed.

And people say art and science don’t need one another.