5-06-2026 10:12am

Year-Long Efforts

On Saturday, Park competed in the American Visionary Art Museum’s annual Kinetic Sculpture Race through downtown Baltimore. It was a beautiful day to trek 15 miles through city streets and parks, mud and sand obstacles, and even into the harbor.

Julie Rogers and Melissa Osquist’s Engineering for the Kinetic Sculpture Race class worked all year on creating their “Hundred Acre Wood” sculpture for this year’s Fantasy & Folly themed race. Congratulations to the entire team (and their supportive family and friends) on completing another fantastic race day.

Kinetic Sculptures are amphibious, human powered works of art custom built for the race. Each May, the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) produces and hosts the East Coast Kinetic Sculpture Race Championship on the shore of Baltimore’s Harbor in central Maryland. The eight-hour race covers 15 miles—mostly on pavement, but also including a trip into the Chesapeake Bay and through mud and sand.

A race of Monumental works of art which are human-powered, all-terrain, homemade contraptions that travel over land, water, sand & mud. watch these kinetic Masterpieces launch at AVAM and follow their journey through the city. Participate, volunteer, witness, or sponsor the historic event!

For full race details, see KineticBaltimore.com

THE BASICS

Approximate Schedule:

9:30 AM • Opening Ceremonies at AVAM
10:00 AM • LeMans Start of Race on Covington Street
11:15-1:00 PM • Water Entry at Canton Waterfront
1:15-3:30 PM • Sand & Mud Obstacles in Patterson Park
4:00 PM • Finish Line at AVAM
6:00- 7:00 PM • Awards Ceremony at AVAM

Entrants should create a totally human-powered and artful Kinetic Sculpture designed to travel 15 miles on land, through mud and sand, and into harbor waters.
Each Sculpture must be no more than 8 feet wide, 13 feet high and 35 feet long while on the road or highway. This is to ensure that vehicles will safely be able to go under overhead cables and will fit between some tight obstacles on the route, in city parks and at the water entry.
Entries and themes should be appropriate for a family viewing.
Suggested theme for 2026: FANTASY & FOLLY
NO motors, batteries, dangerous chemicals, or stored energy, for propulsion.