Nerdbots

Plyaq loved being the center of attention

Plyaq spent a week with the sixth graders at Bluejacket-Flint Elementary, inspiring them as they created their own robot sculptures. While bot-sitting, the students watched a video of our process, read a book called “Digging Up the Past,” learned about sustainability and the importance of reusing materials and wrote descriptive biographies of their creations. Photos of their projects can be found on our Flickr stream.

Nicholas, Angela and Plyaq

We stopped in for a visit and were given the most difficult task of choosing our favorite robots out of the bunch. See our selects and read up on their personalities on our blog.

Thanks to Lucas Shivers, along with the other sixth grade teachers at Bluejacket-Flint Elementary, for including us in such a fun and educational project for the kids.

Mirro was recently adopted by Pamela and Mike from Kansas City and is already settling into his new home. Check out Pamela’s update:

“Well, it was a tough choice, but Mirro has a home North of the River!  He was a little nervous at first – I could hear him doing quadratic equations as we crossed the bridge. However, once I told him his mother was a coin collector in her youth and had had a state quarter map herself, Mirro relaxed and has settled in quite nicely.  He’s currently working his powers of telekinesis on the Hawaii Ice crusher.  (The Eico t-shirt I’m wearing helps, too.)”

We recently completed Dale as a commissioned project for Tim and Rachel. Rachel’s grandfather invented the TV tube tester, and one of his actual creations makes up Dale’s body. Tim and Rachel had the piece made for Rachel’s mother as a way to display the prized family heirloom and to get it out of the deep, dark recesses of the storage closet.

Dale's new hairdo and pipe

dressed to impress

Dale's home

It seems that Dale has now taken to a few of Rachel’s grandfather’s hobbies, including smoking a pipe and wearing his old tie and monocle. 

After Perfection was given to John and Meridith as a wedding gift, they left on their amazing honeymoon vacation. Upon their return home to California, they say they were quite impressed with Perfection’s behavior. ”She had put up ‘welcome home’ and ‘congratulations’ signs and balloons everywhere around our house. She cleaned, fed our bird and even began sorting our taxes,” say her new adoptive parents.

Special thanks to John and Meridith Sprengelmeyer for the update.

Dorchester recently got a new brother, Vita-Mix. They seem to be getting along well together.

Vita-Mix was commissioned out of an old Mac and MINI car parts. Here he is standing proudly in front of one his family’s MINIs.

Special thanks to Todd Pearson of White Roof Radio for providing photos.

Drip was given to Amanda’s boyfriend Topher as a Christmas gift. He now resides on their shelf next to an empty bottle of Patron with a bamboo plant growing inside, which is quite a juxtaposition. We can only hope with all of that gardening, he still finds time to get himself a nice manicure.

Thanks to Amanda for the update!