LET ‘THE BIGGEST NERD WIN’
A new and inventive twist to a classic race allows creativity and excitement
Loveland’s Creatorspace, which offers equipment like 3D printers, forges, woodworking stations, laser cutters and engravers to residents, hosted the Nerdy Derby at the Loveland Public Library Friday afternoon.
The event, which takes a lawless and inventive twist on more classic Pinewood Derby races common among Cub Scouts, pits homemade cars against each other on a track built from metal and plastic.
Cars are built on the spot with prepared parts, and there are no rules, according to Ed Vandyne, one of the founding members of Loveland Creatorspace and its interim executive director.
“The biggest nerd wins,” Vandyne said. “So we do all kinds of stuff to have the fastest car, for kids of all ages.”
His car, built with specially made 3D printed parts, has a hook on the front that attaches to the gate of the track, so when the gate drops forward to release the cars, it propels his contraption forward.
Creatorspace offers its services and equipment to both hobbyists and professionals.
Some metal-shaping and woodworking professionals work out of Creatorspace’s downtown offices, taking advantage of the $60 per month rate to use all of its available equipment.
Others are simply hobbyists, taking advantage of the range of options available to make 3Dprinted objects or forge metal.
The nonprofit reached 100 members last month, allowing it to begin investing proceeds into new equipment rather than simply breaking even, Vandyne said.
The event is one of a wider array of activities put on by the library to encourage innovation and learning among youth.
Ealan Backo, a 9-year-old who wants to be an inventor, had built a car with feathers flaring out from the back that served
two purposes — it looked cool, and it had the potential to tangle his opponents wheels as it sped down the track.
“I made it flat, and I put some things to make it aerodynamic…” Backo said. “And it stops the other cars from making it farther.”
He’s also taking a coding class, his mother Valerie said, as her son placed his car, “the Falcon Flyer,” on the track for another race.
Vandyne offered to put his own trick car, with its gate hook, against the Falcon Flyer. The car beat Backo’s by a considerable amount, and Backo immediately went back to the table where cars could be built, adding pipe cleaners to the front of his car in the shape of a hook.