Two Bit Circus Kickstarts Traveling Carnival of Robots, Fire, and Lasers

Science and engineering can be awe-inspiring. The language of science and engineering? Not so much. Imagine a carnival crier trying to sell robots using technical jargon. You there! Yes you! Step right up and see an automaton algorithmically determine the end-effector velocity of variable joint speeds with a matrix of first-order partial derivatives!

Terrible. It's no wonder only 6% of US high school students go on to get a science-related degree. To help bridge the gap and share the awe, Brent Bushnell and Eric Gradman's Two Bit Circus is producing the STEAM Carnival, a hands-on event featuring “robots, fire, and lasers to inspire young inventors in science, technology, engineering, art, and math.” Doesn’t that sound lovely?

Two Bit Circus successfully funded their $100,000 Kickstarter to underwrite two events, one in Los Angeles and one in San Francisco.

The show includes techie takes on carnival classics like the milk bottle ring toss—with a two foot flame when you nail your throw—and the test your strength hammer game measured in voltage. Then there's a giant Space Invaders video game, a mechanical bull hooked up to  a motion capture suit, and laser maze limbo.