Have you ever wondered how a fly walks on the ceiling or how a chameleon changes colours, or how a giant squid jets around in the ocean? Come learn about this and more at the Robot Zoo Exhibition of Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF), whose 13^th annual edition will run from May 11 – 22 in Expo Centre Sharjah.

Organised by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), the 13th edition of SCRF has the theme ‘Create Creativity’ and the Robot Zoo is a novel addition to the SCRF agenda for children’s edutainment.

Eight animal robots and 15 hands-on activities are available for children to learn the master-planned machinery and magic in Nature that turns ordinary animals into complex machines. The Robot Zoo exhibit presents huge robotic creatures that will illustrate the fascinating, real-life characteristics of even the smallest of species. Young visitors will see how powerful springs can launch a robot grasshopper into the air and how a robot bat locates prey in the dark using special equipment. The demonstrations are meant to help children love and understand their fellow beings on earth.

Shock absorbers and pumps are used to demonstrate the mechanisms that make animals tick. Cutaways are used to present the insides of animals. By comparing the anatomy, environments and size of the actual creatures to their mechanised counterparts, The Robot Zoo provides fantastic new insights and hands-on fun to children who are curious to know how animals work.

The exhibit is based on the book The Robot Zoo which was conceived, edited and designed by Marshall Editions of London, England. Through a host of easily recognisable machine parts and gadgets, the life mechanisms and anatomy of animals and insects are explained to young children.