The Runde Auto Speedway Lands at Matter Creative in Dubuque!

It was quiet when I first got to the Matter Creative to check out the new Race Ramp they built to be part of their Building Lab. Quiet, until Matter Creative’s Executive Director, Jordan DeGree, came in from doing an activity outside with several kids eager to test out their Lego cars on the ramp.  There was excitement in the air as the kids went over to the ramp to race against each other.  They cheered each other on while sharing tips on how to make a better race car. To get more info about how the exciting new addition came about, we talked with the always cheerful Jordan DeGree!

Jordan, the ramp looks great!
Thanks, we call it “The Runde Auto Speedway”

What inspired you to make the Race Ramp?
Dean Beresford from U.S. Bank told me about the awesome race ramps at LEGOLAND that his kids loved to play with and suggested to have it here. We took him up on his suggestion and found he was absolutely right – the kids love it!

How did you go about building the ramp?
We built it on the back loading block and we intend to have it here forever. We put wheels on the back so we can take it out and about to various events.

How has the ramp been received by the kids?
We get kids that walk in that haven’t been here in a while but have been here before that are like, “…what’s this!?” and they get all excited about it. They all really love it. This week there’s been around 80-90 race cars built. They do speed testing to see what to put on the cars to make them faster.

Tell me more about the summer camps going on.
This camp is a week-long camp from Monday-Friday, 9-11pm. This is our 6th and final camp of this year. We have a 6-10 year-old camp and a 11-14 year-old camp. 

As I was leaving the Building Room at Matter Creative it was great hearing the kids have so much fun. Jordan later explained that the kids can actually take their Lego creations to a scale and pay for it by weight. All I was thinking when I exited the building was “Man, I wish I had something like this when I was a kid.” With all of the great memories and positive experiences Matter Creative exposes to these kids it’s hard not to be thankful for something like that to be in our community.