Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race
2023 Race Report: Jemicy: The Big 50, Good As Gold, AuSome, Gettin Gold, & Golden Moose

The Jemicy School of Owings Mills has an entire class dedicated to teaching students how to build a kinetic sculpture race entry.

Their largest entry this year was 4-pilot The Big 50 celebrating 50 years since The School at Jemicy Farm opened in September 1973.

Students learn engineering, art, project management, and learning from failure as they plan, build, and race their entries.

Check out the steering mechanism.

A rugged sculpture impacting the water at speed gives a very satisfying splash.

They had an easy time in the sand.

They started ok in the mud.

But then they required pushing and couldn’t achieve their much-desired ACE.

Unlike some prior years, they used the same tires on road, sand, mud, and water.

There's a big hinge in the middle.

The big “50” was made of photos of prior kinetic sculpture race entries.

Most of The Big 50 team after the race.

One of four single-pilot Jemicy entries, Good as Gold was embellished with a golden moose head.

The trike climbed out of the water with no special accommodations. Teams going for ACE cannot be pushed during the race, and one of the hardest portions of the racecourse to proceed without pushing is the water exit. Building a sculpture that can exit the water under its own power requires careful attention to drive wheel location, flotation height, and the transition from water power to land power.

Sand was easy for the lightweight tricycle riding on mountain bike tires.

But like its bigger teammate, Good as Gold also required pushing in the mud, and couldn't achieve ACE. Maybe a hand-crank low-gear setup like Scrap Life.

Triumphantly crossing the finish line.

AuSome was another 1-pilot Jemicy entry, with its name derived from the 2-letter atomic symbol for gold.

Its tires were narrower than all other Jemicy teams.

It had plenty of buoyancy for the harbor.

The self-powered water exit was carefully calibrated.

But AuSome also required pushing in the mud and couldn't ACE.

AuSome had 4 blue & white Jemicy flags.

The pit crew was smiling through the end of the race.

Gettin Gold had a spartan design of gold pants and paint, with only a decorative green rope added.

In quest of an ACE, Gettin Gold paddled around the ACE buoy.

Gettin Gold also aced its water exit without needing any pushing.

At the mud, Gettin Gold had pit crew standing by—but the sculpture can ACE as long as no one pushes it forward.

Jemicy’s fifth entry Golden Moose entered in the Bush League, planning to bypass the water (and ineligible for ACE). It was a recumbent trike with a fat tire up front and 2 smaller tires in back.

The moose had no difficulty keeping up with the race.

By our count, including this year’s 5 entries, Jemicy has entered 71 sculptures in all 18 races held since 2004:

• 2022: Light Years Ahead, Steam Junk, Disco Fever, Hold Your Horses, & Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
• 2019: The Cutlery, EGGsistential Crisis, Wassssabi, & Grillax
• 2018: Wenda, Waldo, and Odlaw
• 2017: Open Wide Here Comes the Plane, Like Peas in a Pod, You Scream Ice Cream!, and Doughnut Get in My Way
• 2016: Boogie Man, Cry Babies, Dragon Racer, Pocket Monster, Hydra, Math-lete, Flying Phoenix, Little Krach, and Ancient Hooptie
• 2015: Stripes, Safari Hon, Cheetah Cheetah Pumkin Eatah, and Snake Rattle & Roll
• 2014: Going for Ace of Cakes, Cake Boss, Takes the Cake, Icing on the Cake, Have Your Cake and Eat It Too, and It’s my Daddy’s Beemer and I’ll Cry if I Want To
• 2013: You Know the Drill, Hammer Time, and Gut Wrencher
• 2012: Traffic Jam, Jeepers, Going Postal, Hot Rod, and Keep On Truckin’
• 2011: Vechysvboat, Einherjar, Odin, Ve and Vidar, Buri, and Brunehilde
• 2010: Veke Versa Boat, Squid Man, Kraken, Cabrena Octopus & Calamari
• 2009: Critter, Lady Jaye, Low Rider Max, Sneaky Moose, and Philly Flyer
• 2008: Revelation, The Sneaky Moose, and Viscar Boot Attempt #3
• 2007: Valkin Visker Bote II, Daisy Pushers, Subdude
• 2006: Subdude and Dia de la Ardilla Muerta
• 2005: Big Baby, Gerbil & Chariot, and Viking & Moose
• 2004: Valking Viscar Boot

For their patience, ingenuity, and resourcefulness supporting all the Jemicy teams, the judges this year awarded Best Pit Crew to all 5 Jemicy entries.