Pinewood Derby 2018

*Updated 3/6/18
Make plans now to join Pack 1910 for the end-all-be-all of racing events -- the PINEWOOD DERBY! Pinewood Derby Kits were distributed at the February Pack meeting and by pick up at Mr. Mahanna's. If you haven't received yours, please contact him immediately. Rules packets will be e-mailed out to the Pack after their approval.

Our Pinewood Derby will be Saturday, April 29 at 10:30 am

Track set up Friday, April 28 from 6-7pm. ADULT HELP IS NEEDED TO DO THIS. Scouts may arrive between 7-8pm if they wish to test their cars and make any last minute adjustment. 

NEW THIS YEAR:  Official registration will be the morning of the race at 9:30 am. Races begin at 10:30 am (or sooner if registration concludes earlier).

Again, the track will be set up Friday night only for test runs and last minute tweaks and lubrication. Cars will not be checked in (impounded) until the following morning. The official scale will be there both Friday and Saturday and we will be checking car dimensions to be sure all Scout cars are in compliance for the big race.

There are all kinds of ways to enhance your car's performance. I've collected some for you here to check out.

Put the weight in the rear! Improving upon the weight distribution of the car once you've cut the body out.

Are you a physics geek that wants to know the whys behind the how? Check out this and this.

A favorite blog of mine actually summed it up quite nicely

All the speed in your son’s car will come from POTENTIAL ENERGY being converted to KINETIC ENERGY. When the car is at the top of the track, ready to go down, it is full of potential energy, or the force of gravity pulling the car back to earth. If the track were to suddenly disappear, the car would fall to the ground, converting the potential energy to movement, or kinetic energy. 

Theoretically, the fastest the car can go is the speed at which it would be traveling as it fell right before it hit the ground. Of course, your car (or your son’s car) won’t be going that fast since it loses some of it’s kinetic energy to FRICTION and other forces. Friction losses come from the rubbing of the wheels against the side of the car, against the axles, and against the track. There is also a little bit of friction from air, called drag. Energy is also converted into rotational energy, i.e. the spinning of the wheels.

So in essence, we want to maximize the potential energy in your car and minimize the losses due to friction and other forces. While I can’t give away all our secrets, here are a couple of tips to do just that.

Need to find a template to cut your car? Check out here or there's a ton of designs here. Want to know how to make a FAST car? See this post on Boy's Life.

Dremel actually has an interactive tool online where your son can pick out the design and it will give you a printable template for which to build his car! How cool is THAT? There are all kinds of stickers and decals available at hobby shops.

Oh, and don't forget to tie into our Pinewood Derby Theme -- SUPERHEROES! Your car's design/build should have something to do with SUPERHEROES!

There is so much good information and ideas out there! Just let your fingers do the walking! You'll be overwhelmed in no time.

Pack Pinewood Derby workshop dates to cut, sand or work on the car will be 

April 7 from 1-4p

April 14 from 1-4 

and we're working on a time/location for one on April 21.

Building a Pinewood Derby car is a great bonding experience for parents and their scouts. We understand, too, that participation and involvement with the build will be age-appropriate. Tigers at about 20% of the work, Wolves about 40%, Bears about 60% and once they're Webelos-- we would expect them to do the majority of work on their cars. Winning is fun, but that shouldn't be what this whole experience is about.

However, if you just can't keep your hands out of the toolkit, we ARE having an OPEN CLASS so that YOU CAN BUILD YOUR OWN CAR! Let your son experience the process with your guiding hand, but the lessons gleaned from the build (win or lose) be his to learn.

Along the same lines, we have a great movie called Down & Derby available for families to check out and watch together before the race. See April to check it out.