Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race

Tick Tock the Croc approaches the pier at Canton in the May 4, 2019 race, on its way to win the People’s Choice award. Want to see more photos?

Only 291 days until the 2020 race! Saturday, May 2, 2020. It’s time to design your kinetic sculpture!

2018 Kinetic Pilgrimage

See our May 2018 trip to the Golden 50th Humboldt County Grand Championship at 2018 Pilgrimage.

Kinetic Forum

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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 race days, 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.