Beambot Workshop Release

CONTACT: Tony Harrison, 208.880.9814, [email protected] David Gapen, 208.336.3292, [email protected] Visit The Reuseum online at www.reuseum.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Robots run rampant at Meridian Public Library July 23 GARDEN CITY, Idaho (June 8, 2009) — Robots are taking control of a Treasure Valley library in late July. They aren’t supplanting librarians in a cost-cutting move, nor are they Terminators bent on destroying mankind. Instead they’re cute little autonomous robots called BEAMbots you can easily build for yourself in a couple hours out of ordinary items like old cell phones, pagers, CD and DVD players, VCRs, and audio cassette players. And on July 23 they’ll be the subject — as well as the outcome — of a free workshop The Reuseum is staging at the Meridian Public Library from 1-4 p.m. BEAM is an acronym that stands for Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, and Mechanics. Dr. Mark. W. Tilden, formerly a researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory and currently a biomechanical physicist in the R&D department at Wow-Wee Toys (a division of Hasbro), pioneered this minimalist, resource-efficient approach to robotics. Commercial BEAMbot examples include the iRobot Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner and LawnBott robotic lawn mowers, as well as toys like Wow-Wee’s Robosapien, Roboraptor, Roboreptile, Robopet, Roboboa, and Roboquad and Radioshack’s HexBugs. Hobbyists build myriad types of BEAMbots of all shapes and sizes, including sitters, squirmers, sliders, crawlers, jumpers, rollers, walkers, swimmers, fliers, and climbers. Many respond to stimuli, with audiotropes reacting to sound sources, phototropes reacting to light sources, radiotropes reacting to radio frequency sources, and thermotropes reacting to heat sources. Each participant in the free July 23 workshop will build a BEAMbot. In the process they’ll also learn the fundamentals of hand soldering, electrical circuits, and how to repurpose common, everyday items instead of sending them to the landfill. In addition, they’ll gain exposure to the local DIY (do-it-yourself) community. - more - BEAMBOT WORKSHOP JUNE 8, 2009 PAGE 2 OF 2 The free July 23 BEAMbot workshop is open to adults and youths ages 12 and up, as well as children ages 8-11 if accompanied by a parent. Phone Barbra Hendricks in the children’s department of the Meridian Public Library at 888-4451 to register. The library is located at 1326 W. Cherry Lane in Meridian between N.W. 13th Ave. and Leisure Lane. Participants will need to bring a small electronic device (such as an old cell phone, pager, CD or DVD player, VCR, or audio cassette player) to disassemble and use for parts. The Reuseum will provide tools, parts kits with pre-printed circuit boards, and other miscellaneous craft items. Parents should understand workshop participants will be working with hot soldering irons and safety is a necessity. “We’re hoping to have some fun and show people how cheap and easy it can be to build robots,” says David Gapen, the workshop’s facilitator and operations partner and chief tech geek of The Reuseum, an engineering and industrial surplus supply store in Garden City. “However, we’re also trying to raise awareness about recycling, technology, and the need to establish new lines of thought about what many people consider to be ‘obsolete’ technology. For instance, almost everything we’ll use to build these BEAMbots would otherwise be bound for a landfill.” Perhaps best described as a Shangri-La for techies like mechanical, electrical, and network engineers and hobbyists, artists, and collectors, The Reuseum sells electronic components and tools and an array of old-school, obscure, and oddball technology. The store also has weird gear on display and regularly conducts electronics workshops. Visit www.reuseum.com for hours, directions, and a complete schedule of upcoming events. # # # NOTE TO EDITORS: Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BEAM_robotics and http://encyclobeamia.solarbotics.net/articles/beam.html and http://raysbeambots.solarbotics.net/ for additional information about BEAMbots. .

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