The DC Traveler

Strangest Race Ever

by Jon on April 29th, 2008

It’s a race Wile E. Coyote or Rube Goldberg would probably enter –the tenth annual Kinetic Sculpture Race at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. And it’s one of the wackiest races in America.

Nicknamed the “Triathlon of the Art World“, and put on by the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, the race requires contestants to create a human-powered work of art machines that can travel on land, through mud, and over the water of the Inner Harbor. 

Sculptures must be human-powered, ground and amphibious capable, and custom built, just for the race.

Each Vehicle/watercraft/artwork must be constructed out of mostly used bicycle parts, but creators can use their imagination from there.  You’ll see everything from simple designs with just one Kinetinaut at the wheel, to overly-engineered and complex, multi-pilot sophisticated 35 foot long sculptures competing. 

Last year, 32 teams competed in the eight-hour East Coast Championship race. The race is a series of short competitions that covers 15 miles, mostly on pavement, but also includes a trip into the waters of the Inner Harbor and through a bit of mud and sand.  The race includes a loop around Federal Hill Park, around ride in the Inner Harbor, and a Patterson Park obstacle course. 

Prizes are awarded for several categories, including the Worst Honorable Mention, for the worst example of theoretical “engineering”, the Golden Dinosaur Award for the first sculpture to break down or to record the most memorable breakdown, the Golden Flipper for the most interesting water entry, and the highly-prized Mediocre Award for the person or team that finished the race exactly in the middle of the pack.

There are currently 8 annual races in the U.S., with one more in Western Australia.  The “world” championship is held about 250 miles north of San Francisco, and is a 3-day, 41-mile race over Memorial Day weekend.  

The rules are a bit bizarre, including items such as each sculpture must carry one psychologically comforting item form home, pilots are allowed only 8% of their body/clothes to get wet while traveling over (through or under) the water, the Mom’s High Anxiety Rule and the Gilligan’s Drift Rule.

Here’s a good resource on how to build one if you want to compete in next year’s Kinetic Sculpture race.

Attire for the competing teams and spectators is, well, silly (as in Halloween meets Rocky Horror meets Renaissance Festival on acid), so plan to dress up and have some fun.

Kinetic Sculpture Race X
Baltimore Inner Harbor, at the American Visionary Art Museum
800 Key Highway
Baltimore, MD 21230 (map it)
410-244-1900

Dates and Times - Saturday, May 3, 2008, first race at 9:30 a.m. with the first competitors crossing the finish line around 3:00 p.m., and the event ending around 5:00.

Admission - FREE

Parking - Finding meter street parking near the Inner Harbor on weekends can be tough.  Paid garage parking is available in the area.

Images - Flickr - Moby Dick, island, Extreme Makeover, #14,  whaler,  plane, Acme in the water

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POSTED IN: Art, Events, Family Fun, Freebies - Free or No Cost, Great Activities for a Date, Great Places to Unwind, Just a Bit Weird - Fun & Quirky Places, People Watching