Most Halloween skeletons do the same three things: light up, cackle, and repeat the same line all night. Uncle Murray had bigger plans. Well, actually, Nathalie did.
Nathalie, a 9-year-old 4th grader at Edison School in Alameda, CA, took a store-bought animatronic skeleton, opened him up, and gave him a brand-new brain. Now he really talks with everyone who walks up to her porch. He listens to what you say, answers your questions, tells you his jokes, and laughs at them louder than anyone else.
Quick take, if you're skimming
- Who: Nathalie, 9, a 4th grader at Edison School in Alameda, CA
- What: Uncle Murray, a Home Depot skeleton she rewired so he can hold real conversations
- How: a multimeter, a tiny computer the size of a cookie, AI as her co-pilot, and hours of testing
- Watch him talk: a 2-minute video at unclemurray.org/#watch
- Why parents will love it: it's a real example of a kid using AI to build something, not just to chat with it
Who is Uncle Murray?
Nathalie imagined and built Uncle Murray as a skeleton scientist who is now back alive! He loves kids, candy, jokes, explosions (the safe kind), the color pink, and his pink dolphin slippers. He misses his pet dolphin, who has been dead for two hundred years. And he was terrible at stairs: he fell down them every single day, which, as Nathalie explains, is how he got like this.
From three sentences to real conversations
When he came home from the store, Murray was called John, and he only knew three sentences. So he moved into the family garage, and Nathalie got to work.
She opened him up and used a multimeter to find which wire moves his arm and which one lights his eyes. She picked his voice out and wrote his life and soul: his story, his likes and his jokes. She wired his new brain, drilled the holes in his control box, fitted the box inside his chest, and put him back together. Then she painted a sign, so people know they can talk to him.
Testing, testing… and more testing
The first version didn't quite work. Murray talked too fast, and sometimes he stopped listening. So Nathalie tested him for hours and fixed one thing at a time, until he finally behaved like a skeleton alive.
For parents, that may be the best part of the story: a kid who kept going when it didn't work the first time (or the fifth).
So how does a skeleton talk?
It all happens in about one second:
- Wake up: his sensor feels you coming, and his eyes glow.
- Listen: his microphone hears what you say.
- Think: a big computer far away thinks of what Murray would say.
- Talk: he says it! His jaw moves and his arm stirs his drink.
Nobody writes his answers ahead of time. He comes up with what to say himself, every time, which is why no two conversations with Murray are the same.
AI as a co-pilot, not a shortcut
Nathalie used AI as her helper all along the way, a bit like a patient teacher she could ask questions at any hour. But the choices were hers: his character, his voice, his jokes, his wiring, his control box and his sign. It's a fun look at what kids can do when they use AI to make something of their own.
Showing it off
Nathalie brought Uncle Murray to school to show her class how she built him, and the Alameda Journal interviewed her about the project this month. She also made a website for him, with a lab notebook of photos from the build and videos of Murray chatting with family, friends and neighbors.
Want to try a project like this with your kids?
- Start with something you already have. A Halloween decoration that lights up or moves is a great first thing to explore.
- Grab a multimeter. It's an inexpensive tool that lets kids see how electricity flows and figure out what each wire does. Stick to battery-powered or low-voltage parts, always with a grown-up nearby.
- Let kids make the creative calls. Who is the character? What does he love? What makes him laugh? That's where kids light up.
- Plan for lots of testing. Things won't work the first time, and that's part of the fun.
Meet Uncle Murray
- Watch him talk (2 min): unclemurray.org/#watch
- His website: unclemurray.org
Are you the parent or guardian of an amazing local child or teen wanting to share their story? Reach out to your local Macaroni KID publisher, Jen, at jenh@macaronikid.com, with their story!
