Meet the Expert: Dr. Topher Hunter, scientist and expert droid builder
Topher Hunter, PhD, is a scientist at a small medical device company. However he didn’t start out planning to go there. He’s been a professor of engineering, a company scientist, a volunteer medical first responder, a professional photographer, and a professional science communicator at various points in life. About a decade ago, he decided to try building a full-size working R2-D2; since then, his collection has grown to five Star Wars droids, three original creations, and dozens of other weird and wacky projects. Today he lives in Cincinnati with his partner, two dogs, four cats, and more projects than even he can keep track of.

Topher dressed a galactic stormtrooper
DROIDS BUILT BY TOPHER!
BT-1 from the Darth Vader comic. Steampunk Droid
Want ideas of how to build your own droid? Check out this link: https://science.howstuffworks.com/droid-building-news.htm
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Challenge: Go back and watch a movie or a video with a droid in it. See if you can tell how it moves, or when it’s opening and closing a door by using a tool.
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Highlighted Book for this Episode!
National Geographic Kids Everything Robotics by Jennifer Swanson
Book List:
DK Eyewitness Books: Robot: Discover the Amazing World of Machines from Robots that Play Chess to Systems that Think by Roger Bridgman
Awesome Robotics Projects for Kids: 20 Original STEAM Robots and Circuits to Design and Build by Bob Katovich
Making Simple Robots: Easy Robotics Projects for Kids Using Everyday Stuff by Kathy Ceceri