Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race |
May 4 is coming!
Plan to be in Baltimore for the 21st annual race on Saturday May 4, 2019! The 2019 Spectator’s Guide will be available in late April,
so you can refer to the 2018 Spectator’s Guide as a general reference for what to expect. Also see our
complete coverage of the 2018 race!
| Only 76 days until the next race! Saturday, May 4. Time to design your kinetic sculpture! |
|
Volunteers: Mud! Sand! Kops! You!
Help make it happen! The race needs volunteers like you! All you need to do to join is attend the Volunteer Meetings on Wednesday, April 17 or Sunday, April 28. Learn more.
Racers: 2019 Entry Form Now Available!
May 4 is months away, but kinetic sculptures don’t build themselves! Prepare for the race by downloading the 2019 Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race Entry Form, which is due Monday, April 1. See also tips for building a great entry.
2018 Kinetic Pilgrimage
See our May 2018 trip to the Golden 50th Humboldt County Grand Championship at 2018 Pilgramage.
Kinetic Forum
Due to persistent spammers, automatic forum registration is disabled. To join the forum, please email Tom at the address at the bottom of the page, with a brief note about your interest in Kinetics and the username you'd like.
What’s a Kinetic Sculpture Race?
Kinetic Sculptures are amphibious, human powered works of art custom built
for the race. Each May, the American
Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) hosts the East Coast Kinetic Sculpture Race
Championship on the shore of Baltimore’s Harbor in central Maryland. The eight-hour race
covers 14 miles—mostly on pavement, but also including a trip into the
Chesapeake Bay and through mud and sand.
Kinetic Sculpture Racing began in Ferndale, California in 1969 when artist Hobart Brown upgraded his son’s tricycle into a 5-wheeled pentacycle and was challenged to a race down Main Street. (Hobart did not win.) Over the decades since, the California race evolved into a 3-day all-terrain Kinetic Grand Championship including treacherous sand dunes, water crossings, and elaborate sculptures and costumes. You can learn more on Wikipedia including a list of other races nationwide.
For more about the Baltimore race, browse the race photo results in the left menu.
Where can I see Kinetic Sculptures?
You can go to a Kinetic Sculpture Race on the day(s) they run, or the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. AVAM displays Fifi and their other sculptures year round in the dedicated Sculpture Barn.
How to Build a Kinetic Sculpture
Learn from Elliot’s How To Build a Kinetic Sculpture reference guide.