No data exist on the electromyography (EMG) responses in children exposed to dynamic impacts and the resulting head and neck kinematics. The objective of the current study was to measure the EMG responses of the neck, torso and lower extremity in children and young adults during a low speed frontal impact using surface electrodes bilaterally and compare these muscle responses to key kinematic events. Low speed frontal impact tests were performed on seated and restrained pediatric (n=11, ages 8-14 years) and adult (n=9, ages 18-30 years) male subjects. Subjects experienced a maximum acceleration pulse of 4.9 g in 55.7 msec. The timing and magnitude of the EMG responses were compared between the pediatric and young adult groups. Since no bilateral differences were observed in muscle response, the left and right muscle responses were combined for the comparison with kinematics. The interquartile range (IQR) of maximum forward head excursion occurred at 183.8-224.6 msec. The IQR of onset times for the Cervical Paraspinous, Sternocleidomastoid and Upper Trapezius were 34.00-52.67 msec, 50.83-82.67 msec, and 48.17-98.50 msec, respectively. Also of note, the IQR for time of peak muscle activity for the Cervical Paraspinous, Sternocleidomastoid, and Upper Trapezius were 84.00-154.0 msec, 121.5-190.0 msec, and 116.2-169.3 msec. It can be seen that in the low-speed frontal impact tests, all the neck muscles under evaluation were activated (onset) and had reached their peak muscle response prior to the time of maximum forward head excursion. These preliminary results indicate that muscle response may influence head motion in the low-speed environment. Further analysis will examine the relationship between onset times, peak response times and maximum head rotation as well as between magnitude of muscle response and maximum head excursion.