American Visionary Art Museum hosts 24th annual Kinetic Sculpture Race

BALTIMORE -- The American Visionary Art Museum's Kinetic Sculpture Race returned to Baltimore Saturday for the 24th year.  

The theme this year was "Monuments and Masterpieces," and teams did not fall short of bringing it to life in its own way. 

For the last 24 years, David Hess and his 87-year-old father have been a part of Team Platypus.  

"The platypus is the personal long-range all terrain yacht proven unsafe...it's an acronym. And that's what it stands for," David Hess said. 

They're one of two dozen teams back for the American Visionary Art Museum's Kinetic Sculpture Race. 

"The oldest in our group is 82 and the youngest is now four," said a member from Team Soda Quackers. 

It's a people-powered race, showing a side of Baltimore you don't get to see every day.  

Big, witty, and elaborate art vehicles travel around Charm City, through mud, sand pits, and the inner harbor. 

"We have designed this vehicle to get through all three of those and you go throughout the whole entire city and it's, I think, a 15-16-mile-long race," said a participant from the Jemicy School. 

The catch is it isn't a race for first place. 

"It's a test of creativity, resiliency, everything that everyone loves about the city," said Laura Gamble, from PNC.  

Each year, the sculptures are all a little different and built from bicycles, gears, and recycled materials. 

"Whether it's just balloons or actually doing some of the carving and cutting and things like that. So, most of this is actually for the kids to be able to do some of it with us," said a member from Team Soda Quackers. 

Baltimore County's very own Jemicy School even dedicates a course designed to prepare students for the race. 

"So, they had an idea, they sketched it out, and they collaborated, teamwork. They built this amazing vehicle. It has new steering, new, you know, new articulation, just getting their ideas out into reality," said August DiMucci, from the Jemicy School.  

"We really found cool things that are interesting and all the street work...we just really liked the art and how it looked and we thought it went pretty good with a vehicle," said a participant from the Jemicy School. 

The race is about having fun, but also creating memories that'll last a lifetime.  

"I have watched the platypus go by for 24 years, so we're really excited to be a part of it," Gamble said.