San Francisco Exploratorium

August 7, 2025August 9, 2025 Lutin

We went for a visit to the San Francisco Exploratorium in the Embarcadero pier 15. The Exploatorium teach science, technology, art and math (STEAM) like no place else on earth. Most of the exhibits are one of a kind creations straight from their prototyping workshop designed to engage audiences of all ages. The Exploratorium has over 600 exhibits that visitors can interact with.

Situated in the middle of San Francisco’s piers, it is a perfect walking destinations with lots of sights, food and more to explore!

If you are not up for a walk, there is also a MUNI stop right outside the entrance.

There is a lot to see, if you are only going once make sure to prioritize which exhibits you must see.

Learn about human perception by taking a drink from this unique drinking fountain that is shaped like a toilet.

This is a cloud chamber, a machine that allows you to see particles. The cloud chamber was invented by a physicist named Charles Thomson Rees Wilson in 1911. The cloud chamber is filled with the supersaturated vapor of water or vinegar.

You can even look inside the prototyping workshop where engineers can build prototypes for complicated designs.

This device counts when you turn the first gear using more and more advanced technology. It goes from the ones place counted by a spinning gear, all the way to a computer.

This is a model of the mars rover Perseverance. Its jobs is to look for evidence of ancient life on mars and pick up rock and dirt samples that will be brought to earth in the future. It was launched in 2020 and landed on Jezero Crater in 2021, which used to be a crater lake.

In the far back you can see artifical geysers that go off several times an hour. One of our favorite ways to relax is to take a seat and watch as the pressure slowly rises.

The liquid Litmus display shows how electricity and water relax to create basic (blue) and acidic (yellow) solutions.

Ever dream you can visit Dune? See a desert world trapped under glass ever changing as winds rip across its surface.

Brave the cold and get a great View of San Francisco while eating lunch.

Learn how a heat pump work and burn off some energy in this exhibit. A lot of the exhibits require a bit of elbow grease to work the body as well as the mind.

This exhibit about DNA shows different models of human heads. Each head is modeled after the sane DNA, showing that DNA is not the only factor that decided people’s appearances.

And we finish our tour with vibrating rings showing how vibrational frequencies affect objects like steel rings.

We only showed you a few of the countless exhibits hidden in every corner of the San Francisco Exploratorium. If you plan a visit we strongly recommend staying all day.

Hope you find inspiration!

Maker Faire 2025

July 30, 2025July 30, 2025 Lutin

We are very excited to announce HipMonsters.com will be presenting RobotFreedom at this year’s Bay Area Maker Faire, September 26 through September 28th at Mare Island! We have been training our emotional robots for over a year, living with them, playing with them and watching them grow. Come see our robots in action live!

Here is a recap of the 2024 Bay Area Maker Faire to give you a preview of what to expect. These are some of our favorite exhibits, from an underwater robot explorer to a giant inflatable cuttlefish car.

This is the Maker Faire Bazaar, where visitor can find all sorts of handmade goods, like dice, pottery, and even 3d-printed hot chocolate.

This is a big working model of the solar system that is the size of a room. All of the planet’s orbit times are proportional to the real ones.

This is a small model of a bakery with working lights and miniature baked goods.

This is an old battlebot, complete with two giant spikes in front and four googly eyes (Maker Faire 2023).

This is the Humanoid Robot Comedy Show. These robots can move their faces to show facial expressions and look you in the eyes while they tell jokes.

This robot is built for battle. This is one of the robots that fights in an arena against other robots. It is remote controlled and has arms that can swing around.

This is Dalek FAX, a remote controlled model of a Dalek that moves and talks.

This small robot is built by ROV Tour: Underwater Robotics Adventure. They are remote controlled and have cameras that can show footage of its underwater adventures.

And the award winning After.AI whose 3D printed mechanical flip signs were so fun to watch!

This amazing clock uses a whole wall full of gears to tell time.

This is a part of Serenity, an art exhibit showing three insects that shoot fire at a press of a button (Maker Faire 2023).

These are parts of Astro Botanicals Space Garden, which is a collection of glowing handmade inflatable plants.

This is Sepia Lux, a giant inflatable cuttlefish car that lights up. The tentacles and the fins of the cuttlefish can move, and the eyes can change colors.

This is a truck inspired by a beetle complete with wings and a bright green shell.

This is a peacock vehicle that lights up and moves.

We are looking forward to seeing you all at this year Bay Area Maker Faire!

Hope you find inspiration!

Sutter’s Fort

July 24, 2025July 22, 2025 Lutin

Sutter’s Fort is around a two hour drive from the San Francisco Bay Area. Built in 1839, it is in the first permanent European colonial settlement in Central California. Sutter’s fort was the economic center of the settlement, it had bakeries, blacksmiths, and other businesses that most people would need. It lost its importance in 1849 when the gold rush caused many people to rush to California, who competed with Sutter’s businesses.

Here is where they made barrels. Barrels were an essential part of frontier life, holding everything from pickles to gunpowder.

And here is our favorite store, the apothecary store, where you could get herbal remedies and cures as well as coffee.

This is the general store, where the settlers would buy everyday objects such as silverware, food, and simple tools.

Here is the carpentry shop. This shop supplied many important things, such as barrels, furniture, and tools. You can see the tools in the background which the carpenters used for woodworking. Many are very similar to modern woodworking tools. We love seeing workshops to get new ideas on how to improve ours.

Hope you find inspiration!

Sensor Array Mounts Part Two

July 17, 2025July 17, 2025 Lutin

This is our working solution for making secure sensor array mounts for our robots. Because the first one failed, we made many changes based on what worked well and what didn’t.

Please note, this material is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guide on how to create the designs. Please take a look at our disclaimer.

The Video below shows us making a model for the sensors.

Now we pour silicon over the clay model to make a model.

Once the silicon is dry we removed the clay model.

To get the metal finish we mix in brown dye and copper pounder into the resin then put it into the cast.

It you look closely you can see the resin flowing as it dries.

We carefully remove the resin from the molds.

‘A bit of light sanding finishes it off.

Now we attach the sensors.

Finically, Number Three has a stable sensor mount!

Happy creating!

Sensor Array Mounts Part One

July 10, 2025July 13, 2025 Lutin

To make a sensor array mount for the robot, we wanted to try using resin molds. This experiment did not work as intended, but we wanted to share how our experiment went and maybe find a use for the resin pieces in the future. Here is a link to our working solution.

Please note, this material is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guide on how to create the designs. Please take a look at our disclaimer.

First, we laid out our basic design of the sensor array mount using square wooden dowels. Then we traced the design using a markers on a piece of plywood to help guide us later.

Next, we glued the dowels together using hot glue to create a frame. We made sure the joints were tight and leak proof so the resin wouldn’t spill out.

Then we glued the mold to the plywood and put an extra layer of hot glue on the outside. We lined everything with a mixture of one part vegetable oil and one part dish soap to help the resin would separate from the mold. Then we poured the resin into the mold.

We store the mold in a secure location making sure it was laying flat.

While the process did give us a cast, the mold had to be destroyed to get the resin out. The homemade releasing agent did not work, and caused the clear resin to turn green and oily. The design also ended up not aligning as well as we needed. For making resin molds, we recommend not using dish soap or vegetable oil because it will interfere with the resin’s color and make it oily and sticky even after it dries. However, it did make it easy to separate the resin from the mold. We also learned to not make the mold out of wood. Back to the drawing board!

Happy Creating!

PunkSTEAM

July 3, 2025July 17, 2025 Lutin

This is a video we recently released on the meaning of punkSTEAM.

Hummingbirds and Bees

June 26, 2025July 13, 2025 Lutin

It is that time of the year where our yard comes to life with flowers, which bring hummingbirds and bees. As we have mentioned in an early post, we designed part of our yard to encourage wildflowers and native pollinators. That one post convinced Google our site was a gardening site, so we have been reluctant to do another post, but this year was so beautiful we decided to risk it and share. If you want to encourage wildflowers, read our tips here.

Here is a list of the flowers pictured above: Alstromeria, senecio stellata, daisy, yellow roses, pink azaleas, red and yellow sparaxis, foxgloves, and more! Some of these are native wildflowers that just grew in of yard, while others were planted.

Here is a video of some wildflowers in our garden.

Happy Creating!

Securing Wires on Number Two and Number Three

June 19, 2025July 13, 2025 Lutin

We take Number Two and Number Three on the road a lot. While we are now experts at rewiring them after a long road trip, we started testing new ways for securing wires while still letting kids see how the robots were put together. After many designs, we settled on using clear silicon pneumatic tubes. The tube protect and secure the wires but still allow people to see how the wires attach.

Please note, this material is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guide on how to create the designs. Please take a look at our disclaimer.

This video shows us taping the wires.

This video is us splitting the clear tubes down the middle to fit in the wires.

This video shows the process of wrapping the wires in the tube.

This is the final result.

Happy Creating!

Number 2’s and Number 3’s New Legs

June 12, 2025July 13, 2025 Lutin

From last year’s Bay Area Maker Faire we learned a lot about what is the right and wrong way for our robots to move. Our first designs did not work well on the rough and uneven surfaces, and our bi-pedal design fell over before the gates even opened. From that experience, we have opted for a centaur design for the new legs, leveraging a more powerful engine, a collapsible design, and gears.

Please note, this material is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guide on how to create the designs. Please take a look at our disclaimer.

The legs are more simple overall but still require a lot of parts. We moved to using hardwood for the critical components for its strength.

Our design changed a lot from the one at last year’s Maker Faire. First, each leg has two wheels connected to a axel. The motor turns the axel via a chain. The biggest change is the legs now fold and unfold to make transportation easier.

Here is a close up of the finished axel on the end of the leg with one of the gears.

Here is one of the leg connecters that allows the new legs to fold for travel. They can lock in place when the robots are standing or walking.

Here are the legs with the wheels attached.

Here is a close up of the chain with one of the pins almost removed.

Happy Creating!

Shapeshifting Toy Robots Part 2

June 5, 2025July 13, 2025 Lutin

Here are some of our old creations that we forgot to post about. These are some of our wooden shapeshifting robots, inspired by Transformers.

Please note, this material is provided for informational purposes only and is not a guide on how to create the designs. Please take a look at our disclaimer.

Making these do not require a lot of materials. you just need six rubber bands, four lego car wheels, and a small piece of wood.

First, measure and cut two small pieces of wood to be the outside of the car and the legs. Measure and drill two holes that the lego wheels will fit securely in. Make sure that you leave enough space in between the holes for the wheels to fit.