Case Western Reserve University’s makerspace to present first think[box] Derby; competition open to campus community and the public
In the same vein as the Akron-based International Soap Box Derby, the Cub Scouts’ Pinewood Derby and Crazy Craft homemade boat races, Sears think[box]—the seven-story, 50,000-square-foot innovation center and makerspace at Case Western Reserve University—is presenting its first annual think[box] Derby.
The derby, set for 1-5 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, is a mini car-design competition—open not only to Case Western Reserve students, faculty and alumni, but also the public—in which almost anything goes. Inspired by the Nerdy Derby, an event popular at Maker Faires, the think[box] Derby showcases how unbridled creativity can drive innovation.
“Participants are invited to make a car any way they choose: by cutting and folding cardboard, carving a classic block of wood or attaching carrot wheels to a zucchini frame,” said Sears think[box] Executive Director Claire Dorsett.
“We anticipate some of our more artistic or engineering-minded students will get far more creative than that,” she said, “using our fourth-floor shop space to waterjet and mill components or by incorporating small motors and other electronics.”
The only design constraint is the width of the car axles: wheels should be spaced 1.75 to 2 inches apart to fit on the derby’s 40-foot-long track, which was custom-fabricated at think[box] by Cleveland Research Devices, a startup venture housed on the building’s seventh floor.
Awards will be presented for the fastest car, the slowest to cross the finish line, fan favorites and more. Bonus challenge categories invite participants to craft a car that can climb the steep, wave-like tracks in reverse or stop at the top of the hill without rolling down the other side.
The tracks, equipped with button-driven starting gates and sensors, will be mounted to the building’s central staircase and span most of the length of the second floor. The track’s technology was designed to record each car’s race time and maximum speed in inches-per-second. Results will be displayed on digital leaderboards throughout the day.
The competition is especially targeted to non-engineers to broaden the facility’s reach, Dorsett said. So, to build excitement and encourage participating, think[box] staff is hosting pop-up “out of the [box]” makerspace events across campus leading to the competition, bringing laser-cutters and other fabrication equipment to dorms, Kelvin Smith Library and the Tinkham Veale University Center.
The pop-up locations, dates and times:
- Pop-up 1 – Stephanie Tubbs Jones Multipurpose Room, 1-3 p.m. March 22;
- Pop-up 2 – Kelvin Smith Library Commons, 5-7 p.m. March 24;
- Pop-up 3 – Noyes House Multipurpose Room, 3-5 p.m. March 25;
- Pop-up 4 – Collaboration Floor (floor 2) at Sears think[box], 5-7 p.m. March 26;
- Pop-up 5 – Wade Commons Red Cat Room, 3-5 p.m. April 1.
“The goal,” Dorsett said, “is to expose as many people as possible to think[box] and ‘making’ in a way that feels inviting rather than intimidating.”
For more information, contact Bill Lubinger at william.lubinger@case.edu.