小猪视频

It鈥檚 not every day that you see a giant snail, a pirate ship and the Millennium Falcon crossing the Howe Bridge heading toward 小猪视频鈥檚 North Campus. But the听听鈥� equal parts engineering challenge, art parade and community festival 鈥� is not your everyday event.

One Saturday each fall, more than a dozen teams from around the region and across the country pedal whimsical, human-powered machines across a grueling 6-mile course that features cobblestones, mud and even a plunge into the Merrimack River. This year鈥檚 eighth annual race included several students, alumni and faculty from 小猪视频, which sponsors the event that blends science, technology, engineering, art and math 鈥� or STEAM.

Sophomore听computer engineering听major Jennifer Carmona co-piloted the 鈥淐apybara Express鈥� for the Youth Development Organization, an after-school program in Lawrence where she works as a STEM instructor.

鈥淭he best part has been working with the kids on the build and seeing the results of their work,鈥� said Carmona, a Methuen native who had never seen the race before. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great way for them to build skills and for me to gain hands-on experience with mechanics and design, something I don鈥檛 always get when I鈥檓 more focused on coding.鈥�

Carmona said she was warned to wear her 鈥渦gliest shoes鈥� for the race, which proved wise when her co-pilot鈥檚 bicycle chain broke in the 鈥淢addening Mud Pit鈥� outside the Tsongas Center and they had to push their machine through. After a quick repair, they were back on course.

Sophomore听studio art听major Aaliyah Colon also saw her team鈥檚 pirate ship get bogged down in the mud. Colon competed with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell, where she has worked for the past three years and recently started an art program called the Creative Collective.

Like Carmona, it was Colon鈥檚 first time experiencing the race. 鈥淚 remember seeing the funky bikes going through Lowell last year and being confused,鈥� said Colon, who learned more about the event from听Art and Design听Assistant Teaching Professor听Michael Roundy, the race director. 鈥淭he idea of combining art, science and engineering really resonated with me. I love infusing art into the project.鈥�

In the pre-race Family Fun Zone on Market Street, where spectators could meet the machine makers, one of the more popular entries was the 鈥淎luminum Falcon Experience,鈥� a detailed replica of the Millennium Falcon from 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� built by Lowell Makes, a nonprofit community-run makerspace.

Mechanical engineering听alum Joshua Landis 鈥�22, 鈥�24, a Lowell Makes member, helped with the construction and cheered on the team during the race.听

鈥淚 love this event because it鈥檚 a big group of other nerdy people who want to combine art and engineering and have a good time,鈥� said Landis, a Billerica native who is continuing his winning DifferenceMaker project,听SparkCell, at Lowell Makes.

Senior听graphic design听major Matt Downie helped promote the event and chronicled race day on social media as part of his internship with the Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race team.

鈥淲hat hooked me is the community aspect,鈥� said Downie, a Danvers native who hadn鈥檛 heard of the race until landing his internship. 鈥淵ou can tell the engineers and builders are serious and work incredibly hard, but the event is 鈥榝un first, winning second.鈥� It鈥檚 about the people and the experience, and I think that鈥檚 cool.鈥�

Downie worked under the team鈥檚 creative director, graphic design alum Andrew Schuster-Morales 鈥�20.听听

鈥淲hat drew me to design in the first place is the idea that everything you make communicates something that can do some good,鈥� Downie said. 鈥淲orking with the Kinetic Race team reinforced that. It isn鈥檛 just, 鈥榃e need assets for the business.鈥� Their passion and enthusiasm rubbed off on me and made me care more about doing the work well.鈥�

Just as pedals make the machines go, volunteers make the race run. Mechanical engineering alum Rob Lahaie 鈥�18, 鈥�20, 鈥�22, now a visiting researcher, donned a banana suit as one of the race marshals. Provost听Joe Hartman, meanwhile, wore a red cape and gold crown as one of four 鈥淩oyal Judges.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 a fun day for the city, and it鈥檚 great to see the variety of this work 鈥� a perfect combination of engineering and art, which I love,鈥� Hartman said while handing out stickers to kids before the race. 鈥淧eople are having fun, and anything we can do to bring the community together is pretty cool.鈥�