Strandbeests: Giant Sculptures That Eat Wind Descend on San Francisco

(upbeat music)

[Narrator] This is a strand beast,

that's dutch for beach animal.

My name is Theo Jansen, I'm a kinetic sculptor

and I try to make new forms of life

on beaches.

These structures are made of PVC tubing,

so is our skeletons which are able to walk on wind power.

So, these animals, I call them, are not depending on food,

they eat the wind, you could say.

[Narrator] Several of Jansen's creations are currently

on display at the Exploratorium in San Francisco,

where you can actually interact

with some of these things one-on-one.

So what you see here in the Exploratorium are all

extinct animals but we are able

to reanimate an extinct animal

by pumping up the wind stomach with a compressor,

then the animal comes alive again for a few minutes

in the museum, just like in Jurassic Park.

The why question, I don't know why I make these animals,

I just do it by intuition,

like you ask parents why do you make children?

It's a question which you don't really answer,

I mean, you just do it.

[Narrator] The strand beasts are on display at

the Exploratorium now, through September fifth.

It's the third and final stop on their first major tour

of the Americas, so don't miss your chance

to interact with these unusual creatures.

(upbeat music)