Union City, Tenn.—Discovery Park of America members will experience a fun, race-themed evening to kick-off the museum and heritage park’s latest temporary exhibit, “Hot Wheels: Race to Win,” on Aug. 29, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. In addition to getting a first look at the exhibit, members will get to meet Dirt Track Racer April Kahler.
“There are a few things I am passionate about. My Lord and savior, my family, dirt track racing, and people,” said Kahler. “So needless to say, I am so excited about getting to meet Discovery Park of America members and I look forward to sharing my love and passion for this sport.”
Kahler, who also works as a certified medical assistant at Baptist Memorial Health Care in Memphis, will be bringing her current car, a 1972 Chevelle that has been stripped and cut with a GRT late-model cage and features a 602 Chevy crate engine.
Guests at the event will also learn from Kahler about the equipment she uses during a race and the measures taken by the safety crew and medical staff to keep drivers safe.
The exhibit “Hot Wheels: Race to Win” allows guests to experience a dynamic race team working together to build and test the fastest and safest speed machines on the planet, using Hot Wheels die-cast cars to experiment and play. This behind-the-scenes look at the thrilling world of racing investigates the scientific process for designing super-fast cars and helps families who have the need for speed understand how it is achieved.
“This fun exhibit provides hands-on opportunities for children and adults to experience complex concepts in fun ways utilizing the popular Hot Wheels toy cars as they experiment with different principles to see which makes a car go fastest,” said Scott Williams, president and CEO of Discovery Park. “In addition to being fun and immersive, the exhibit also supports STEM learning goals and provides rich opportunities for learning in a fun and unique way.”
Also on hand for the members-only event will be students from the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Newbern, Tenn. who have been busy developing an idea to showcase the relevance of Career Technical Education. “Our Computer Aided Design class worked together with our Machine Tool Technology program to design a different concept of an intake manifold,” said Mike Johnson, Student Success Specialist at the center. “Working together, plans and prints were drawn out, a 3-D printed prototype was created and finally the students in our Machine Tool program, using CNC machinery, machined the part from an aluminum billet.”
The sketches, prints and parts will be displayed at the “member’s only sneak peek” on the 29th. There will also be a 3-D printer printing parts throughout the event. “Of course, since it is a racing event, members of our Automotive Technology program will be there to explain what the parts are, how they work and their purpose,” Johnson added.
Rounding out this special event will be the opportunity to see a character car inspired by Lightning McQueen from Pixar’s movie “Cars” from Rusty’s TV and Movie Museum in Jackson, Tenn.
This event is only open to Discovery Park of America members. You can join online or at the Discovery Park ticket counter. In addition to gaining the opportunity to attend free member’s only events like this one, your gift of an annual membership helps support the park’s mission to inspire children and adults to see beyond.
“Hot Wheels: Race to Win” opens to the public Fri., Aug. 30, 2019 and will open through Jan. 5, 2020. The cost of the exhibit is $4.95 plus admission to the museum.
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