Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention
Episode 1: Nature Knows Best
30 minutes
Wallace and Gromit explore the wonders of the natural world and look at inventions inspired by Mother Nature. We visit some incredible flying penguins and other elegant manta-ray-inspired robots at Festo in Germany and visit Malawi, where scientists are studying the intricate structures of termite mounds to create self-cooling houses of the future.
In Holland we meet the brilliant sculptor Theo Jansen as he shows us his latest amazing contraption, the Animaris Siamesis - a huge insect-like structure that moves independently and gracefully with the wind. In Israel, Jem Stansfield meets a man who has invented a fish-like 'gill' which could allow humans to breathe underwater and we look at some weird and wonderful fly-eating furniture based on the Venus Fly Trap plant and other carnivorous plants. Finally, Wallace, with the help of his friend Goronwy, gives us a run-down of his top five animal-inspired inventions. Show less