Now that the last episode of the locally-shot show Mythbusters has ended and aired, Adam Savage is finding truly savage ways to stay busy. The Discovery Channel show's former co-star recently completed an extraordinary recreation of the maze from the classic film thriller The Shining for an exhibit on Stanley Kubrick (which you can see at the Contemporary Jewish Museum through October.) Now Savage has moved on to building a "pedal-powered beest" in person at the Exploratorium.
Beginning Tuesday, July 5th, Savage will spend three full days in the Exploratorium's North Gallery constructing a steel, 8-foot tall, 12-footed mechanical "beest." Inspired by the kinetic art (and current Exploratorium "Strandbeest" exhibit) of Dutch artist Theo Jansen, Savage's "beest" will be pedal-powered by a brave rider and will sport sneakers on all 12 of its feet.
"Beests" are self-propelled creatures that Jansen, a former physicist, has been creating since 1990. We're picturing something like the Bug/Transformer that Tom Hanks imagined in Big, but these "beests" are clearly something one should see in person.
Visitors to the Exploratorium can check out Savage at work all day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, or attend "After Dark: BYOBeest" on Thursday evening. There, Savage will test out his creation for a crowd of mostly grownups mostly drinking alcohol. Tickets to Thursday's night's 18-and-over event cost $15 (tack on an extra $10 if you'd like to crawl through the pitch-black tactile dome) and include an array of fun exhibits, demonstrations and lectures. Savage will unveil the final, hopefully-working "Beest" at 9:30pm.
Bonus: Show up with a "beest" creation of your own and score a $5 discount off the cost of admission.