Meet ‘Celoon Dion’ and the B.C. couple who built a trio of Canadian-inspired robots

Adam meets a couple creating a trio of electronic animals, including a loon that sings like Celine Dion and a rideable rodent named Lester Beaver Pearson.

VANCOUVER — When you wonder what’s in the box that Janet Mader is carrying, she’ll tell you it’s “robot wildlife.”

She then introduces the robot goose as Gustav, before mentioning the robot loon is named after an iconic singer.

“This is Celoon Dion,” Janet says.

Then her husband David Bynoe tells you they’ve also built a third animatronic animal. “We have an electric beaver,” David smiles.

When you ask if you can follow them into their Hack Space to see how the robots work, they agree and introduce a large furry beaver with a top hat named after a former prime minister.

“This is Lester Beaver Pearson,” David smiles.

Janet and David thought it would be funny to make the rodent rideable.

“Oh, it’s hilarious,” Janet says before showing how you can sit on the beaver’s back and ride all around.

The couple built it after Janet figured out new welding techniques and David learned about electronics.

“When I get stuck, she can find a way out and vice versa,” David smiles before lifting the furry exterior off Lester Beaver Pearson to show how the motor and wheels work.

Before they show you what they do with the beaver, they reveal that Gustav the goose and Celoon Dion are regularly featured at the Vancouver Combat Robot tournaments.

Gustav performs in the half-time show with a stuffed moose riding on his back, while Celoon sings the national anthem (a Celine Dion recording in both official languages).

Meanwhile, Lester Beaver Pearson makes appearances all over the place.

“I personally just like to inject little bits of joy,” David smiles.

A couple of David and Janet’s friends rode the beaver during their Canadian citizenship ceremony over Zoom. “So they can feel that much more Canadian while taking their oath of citizenship,” David smiles.

And then a bunch of their neighbours borrowed them for a 90-year-old’s birthday celebration.

“Nonagenarian beaver rodeo is a phrase I never thought would enter my lexicon,” Janet laughs. “But it was amazing!”

But perhaps best of all is when they take Lester Beaver Pearson out in the public and inevitably build community by offering rides to strangers.

“It’s so nice to see you’re making someone smile,” Janet says. “Because there is so much awfulness (in the world), it feels really important to be kind.”

And like our country was created by all sorts of different people coming together to make this mosaic we call Canada, Janet and David are hoping to inspire others to build all sorts of things to make our communities more fun.

“It’s kind of a wonderful time to be alive, really.”