A fantastic display of roboto-mechanical animals on an awesome scale, opened in 2007 and displayed in old shipyard warehouses in Nantes, France.  This is a kind of Amusement Park of Wonders, beautifully conceived and executed, with 100% hands-on participation demanded of visitors:  you can ride the 12-meter-tall articulated elephant on a tour, climb into a huge fish or humongous calamari and work the Captain Nemo-like controls. Or you can simply wander in astonishment, observing the great craftsmanship and design details.  The exhibits are built of all sorts of materials—plastic and metal but also leather and wood.  Designers Francois Delaroziere and Pierre Oreficee have continued a Renaissance triumphalist tradition that traces back at least to Leonardo da Vinci and other magical artificers who prompted the age of automata.  These works still challenge our sense of wonder, at once colossal toys and genuinely surprising imitations of nature.  For details of visiting see: http://www.lesmachines-nantes.fr/english/

Four selected subjects on the Ile de Machines: