The man stayed with the robot the whole day, experimenting and scratching his head. He missed the entire show and never did learn the truth. Children's reactions to robots depends on their age. Below a certain age, usually about five years, the child thinks that the robot is alive, since anything that moves is alive and anything that stands still is not. And no amount of explaining will change that perception.
Children react to robots the same way they react to large dogs.
If the child is afraid of dogs, the child will be afraid of robots. But if the child likes dogs, then the child will like robots. A child does not connect the robot to an operator even when the operator is visible. We once worked at a birthday party where all the children were enjoying the robot. After an hour, the operator turned off the robot to take a short break.