# SOOK: fact sheet

SOOK is a human-powered, amphibious blue crab: a kinetic sculpture that four people pedal through Baltimore's streets, down a boat ramp into the harbour and through a sand pit, changing colour as she goes.

"Sook" is Chesapeake Bay slang for a mature female blue crab.

## Key facts

- **Event:** The Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race, run by the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM)
- **Race day:** Saturday, May 1, 2027
- **2027 theme:** TRUE COLORS
- **Pilots:** 4, sitting in pairs under the shell
- **Drive motors:** 0. Pedals only. Small battery motors only animate the art.
- **Course:** About 15 miles of streets, cobbles and hills (AVAM's figure)
- **Splashdown:** 1, down the Canton boat ramp into Baltimore harbour
- **Then:** A sand pit and mud in Patterson Park, and back to the museum
- **The show:** 3 acts of colour: blue, steamed orange, rainbow
- **Weight:** About a ton, before anyone climbs on
- **Practice:** 500 virtual races in a simulator before a single part was cut
- **After the race:** Designs, build guides and race software go open source

## The team

- A family and friends in the Baltimore area, building on weekends in a home garage. Kids are part of it, from the paint crew to the cheering section.
- Captain and press contact: Josh. The rest of the crew is named by role (chief builder, art lead, pilots, pit crew) as people join; more join at a kickoff party in November 2026.
- Sponsors cover the cost, so it is free for every family that joins.

## The story

SOOK started at the 2026 Halloween parade in Canton, when one of us said she'd love to be in a parade one day. The next day, a chat with Claude (an AI assistant) about Maryland parades turned up AVAM's Kinetic Sculpture Race, and a family said yes to a giant crab. The engineering and software are designed with Claude: the 3D model, the stress checks, a simulator of the whole course and the race-day show software. AI pilots running on Jev helped work out the pacing in the simulator. The concept art, SOOK's voice and her songs are AI-made too. But every decision and every real mile is people: four pilots pedalling, and a crew of neighbours and kids building her.

## How we use AI: AI-forward, human-built.

SOOK isn't built yet. Every picture of her so far is an AI concept render, not a photo. Real build photos will be marked "Real photo".

AI helps with almost everything we make: the concept art (Gemini, "Nano Banana"), 3D scans of the art (Meshy), SOOK's voice and her songs (ElevenLabs), and a lot of the writing, engineering and software (Claude).

People make every decision, direct the art, weld and build her, and pedal her on May 1, 2027.

Please keep "AI concept render" in the caption or credit of any concept image you use. Never present one as a photo. More: https://sookthecrab.com/ai/

## Boilerplate

**25 words:** SOOK is a pedal-powered blue crab that swims. A Baltimore family and friends are building her for AVAM's Kinetic Sculpture Race on May 1, 2027.

**50 words:** SOOK is a giant, human-powered blue crab. Four pilots will pedal her through Baltimore, down a boat ramp into the harbour and through a sand pit in AVAM's Kinetic Sculpture Race on May 1, 2027, changing colour as she goes. A family and friends, kids included, build her on weekends.

**100 words:** SOOK is a giant, human-powered blue crab built for the American Visionary Art Museum's Kinetic Sculpture Race in Baltimore on May 1, 2027. Four pilots pedal her about 15 miles through the city, down the Canton boat ramp into the harbour and through a sand pit, with no motors driving her. For the 2027 theme, TRUE COLORS, she changes from blue to steamed orange to rainbow. A family and friends build her on weekends, with the kids on the paint crew. The team is AI-forward and human-built: the concept art and engineering use AI, but every mile is people. sookthecrab.com

## Contact

- Press: hello@sookthecrab.com (captain: Josh)
- Sponsorship: sponsors@sookthecrab.com
- Web: https://sookthecrab.com
- Social: @sookthecrab on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Bluesky (@sookthecrab.com). Accounts are being set up now. Links go live here as each one opens.

## Images and credits

- Act I: the blue crab: AI concept render (Gemini), directed by Team SOOK. Not a photo.
- Act II: steamed: AI concept render (Gemini), directed by Team SOOK. Not a photo.
- Act III: true colours: AI concept render (Gemini), directed by Team SOOK. Not a photo.
- The splashdown: AI concept render (Gemini), directed by Team SOOK. Not a photo.
- The chassis in CAD: CAD render: Team SOOK
- The course simulator: Course simulator: Team SOOK. Aerial imagery: USDA NAIP. Buildings: © OpenStreetMap contributors

There are no real photos yet: every picture of SOOK here is an AI concept render, and the kit files carry a small "AI concept render" tag. Real build photos will be marked "Real photo". Ask us for anything you need in the meantime.

_Updated 2026-10-28. SOOK is a team entry in AVAM's race and is not affiliated with AVAM._