Tag Archives: Formula One

The race is on!

7 July 2009 – 6.53pm

In Inspiration Station yesterday there was a flurry of frenzied activity as the Discovery Centre pit crew hosted an hour of Formula One activities

Tiana and Jaiden check the weight of a street car tyre. © Te Papa, 2009.

Tiana and Jaiden check the weight of a street car tyre. © Te Papa, 2009.

Spectators were allowed into ‘trade secrets’ such as how heavy an ordinary car tyre is compared to a bigger, fatter, but lighter F1 tyre. They also found out about the revolutionary properties of carbon fibre as well – but promised not to tell any opposing teams!

But in true F1 styles the friendliness stopped as everyone got down to the serious business of the hour – building the fastest milkbottle car and racing it.

Callum with his flaming race car. © Te Papa, 2009.

Callum with his flaming race car. © Te Papa, 2009.

There was a race to get the best stickers. All the participants understanding that how your racing car looks directly affects its overall speed :)

But the proof is in the pudding – kids got to race their speedy creations in five heats – winners scoring themselves a beautiful Formula One™ – The Great Design Race poster.

Check out some of the other constructors and their cars:

Constructor Jack and Kurt, one of his pit crew. © Te Papa, 2009.

Constructor Jack and Kurt, one of his pit crew. © Te Papa, 2009.

Grace and her distinctive yellow-wheeled racer. © Te Papa, 2009.

Grace and her distinctive yellow-wheeled racer. © Te Papa, 2009.

Isaac sizing up his race car's tyres with the F1 Bridgestone one. © Te Papa, 2009.

Isaac sizing up his race car\’s tyres with the F1 Bridgestone one. © Te Papa, 2009.

Check out Mrinali's rear wing and double rear tyres - what would Max think of that? © Te Papa, 2009.

Check out Mrinali\’s rear wing and double rear tyres – what would Max think of that? © Te Papa, 2009.

Constructor Jonathan insisted his car be number 1. © Te Papa, 2009.

Constructor Jonathan insisted his car be number 1. © Te Papa, 2009.

Liri's car was questioned by other constructors as it didn't conform to FIA rules. © Te Papa, 2009.

Liri’s car was questioned by other constructors as it didn’t conform to FIA rules. © Te Papa, 2009.

By emmab | Posted in Exhibitions, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (5)

Little observations

28 June 2009 – 1.50pm

I was very fortunate to assist with the install of some of the Formula One cars – some little facts occured to me as we moving them into place:

The BRM P160 was the heaviest beastie:

The BRM P160. © Te Papa, 2009.

The BRM P160. © Te Papa, 2009.

The Williams FW14B was the widest – very thoughtful moments as to which path to take it from the lift to the gallery…

The Williams wideboy.© Te Papa, 2009.

The Williams wideboy.© Te Papa, 2009.

The lovely Lotus 16 is the most elderly – 1958, with the 2006 McLaren MP4-21 being the youngest whippersnapper

Unloading the Lotus 16. © Te Papa, 2009.

Unloading the Lotus 16. © Te Papa, 2009.

And the car that required the least amount of manoeuvring around was another of my favs – the Cooper T51. In fact it went around the corner past Inspiration Station in one go – a treat! :)

The Cooper T51 cornering nicely.© Te Papa, 2009.

The Cooper T51 cornering nicely.© Te Papa, 2009.

Go to our Formula One™ – The Great Design Race website for the full list and basic specs of the cars

By emmab | Posted in Exhibitions | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (4)

Getting the Williams from groundfloor to the fourth

27 June 2009 – 3.53pm

When making exhibitions here at Te Papa, teams have to install a wide variety of objects. You, the visitor, generally only get to see the polished final product – everything all beautifully laid out, ready for viewing.

Have you ever wondered how we get the big stuff in? All I can say is – thank goodness for the goods lift. Now, I know it’s big and has had cars in it in the past but you never fully appreciate this ability until you see it for yourself…

The Williams FW14B going into the goods lift. © Te Papa, 2009.

The Williams FW14B going into the goods lift from the ground-level dockway. © Te Papa, 2009.

And so the Formula One cars were moved, one by one, from the dockway up to Level Four.

Various objects get moved to their respective gallery’s usually by trolley – but with the installation of these Formula One cars it was a different kettle of fish…. a different road to follow you could say :)

Those responsible for the safety of the cars decided on wheeling them through Level Four from the lift…

The Williams coming out of the goods lift on level four. © Te Papa, 2009.

The Williams coming out of the goods lift on level four. © Te Papa, 2009.

These cars are designed to operate beautifully at very high speeds – which meant  turning corners at very slow speeds very tricky. There was no such thing as a perfectly executed 3-point turn! More like five or six-point shimmying to get them around corners and into the Visa Platinum Gallery… there was a lot of maths…

Wheeling sedately past the Britten bike. © Te Papa, 2009.

Wheeling sedately past the Britten bike. © Te Papa, 2009.

Backing the Williams into the gallery. © Te Papa, 2009.

Backing the Williams into the gallery. © Te Papa, 2009.

You may have noticed that we backed it all the way – this is so it ended up facing the right way on its plinth inside the gallery – told you maths was involved :)

Putting the nosecone back onto the Williams FW14B. © Te Papa, 2009.

Putting the nosecone back onto the Williams FW14B. © Te Papa, 2009.

You may also be thinking that the Williams FW14B is not looking that flash – it’s nose-cone had been removed in England so it didn’t get damaged in transit. So we’ve made Nigel Mansell’s 1992 car look gorgeous again… rhinoplasty does wonders!

The Williams on its final resting place in the Visa Platinum Gallery. © Te Papa, 2009.

The Williams on its final resting place in the Visa Platinum Gallery. © Te Papa, 2009.

By emmab | Posted in Exhibitions | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (1)

’71…’88…’92…’06… No, it’s not bingo.

22 June 2009 – 5.29pm

These are the years of the cars that were unloaded today and are now safely inside the building… two of my favourites included:

The 2006 McLaren MP4-21. Copyright Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

The 2006 McLaren MP4-21. Copyright Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

They’ve been travelling by sea for weeks all alone in their containers… waiting for you to come and see them :)

The 1992 Williams FW14B. Copyright Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

The 1992 Williams FW14B. Copyright Museumof New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

By emmab | Posted in Exhibitions | Also tagged , , | Comments (10)

Presenting the McLaren-Honda MP4-4…

10 June 2009 – 2.17pm

… especially for Sam :)

The McLaren MP4-4 on display in the Design Museum, London

On display in the Design Museum, London. Image reproduced courtesy of the Design Museum, London.

Formula One™ – The Great Design Race will have 9 cars on display – so I thought I’d give you a taster of what you’ll see when you come. Of course an image on a blog doesn’t come close to seeing the real thing!

This car seriously rocks – it dominated the 1988 season, and of course owes some of its success to its driver, the legendary Ayrton Senna. Together they won the Drivers’ Championship for that year.

Alain Prost drove the other MP4-4 that year. The team racked up 15 out of 16 Grand Prix wins, 10 second places, 15 pole positions, 10 fastest laps, and the Constructors’ Championship…phew!

So what was its advantage? Well, Senna and Prost were mighty fine drivers but it was also partially due to the car’s turbocharged Honda RA168E V6 engine which deliver up to 900 bhp. 1988 was the final year that turbocharged engines were permitted in Formula One.

You can come and see this beastie here at Te Papa from July 15.

By emmab | Posted in Exhibitions | Also tagged , , , , , , | Comments (8)

Formula One at Te Papa… and a little chair waits…

3 June 2009 – 6.48pm
Visa Platinum Gallery, empty and waiting...

Visa Platinum Gallery, empty and waiting…

We’ve carefully deinstalled the precious Monets and others – they’re already back in Boston…

Nearly all the walls have been taken down…

The Visa Platinum Gallery on Level 4 here at Te Papa is pretty much empty – in fact I think the last time I saw it so empty was for Henry Moore in 2002…ish. Have to confess – it’s an excellent space to sing very loudly in :)

So this little chair waits… what’s going in there?

Nine

beautiful,

sexy Formula One cars

- along with a whole lot of other amazing objects and stories.
Formula One™ – The Great Design Race will be opening 15 July 2009.

I can’t wait!

Psst – don’t worry, we’ll sweep the floor.

By emmab | Posted in Exhibitions | Also tagged , , , | Comments (10)
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