Pinewood Derby 2012

Oscar started attending Cub Scouts on the local Army base two weeks ago.  He is excited about earning patches and belt loops and learning new things.  Right now he is a Wolf.  In May he will become a Bear.

The Pinewood Derby is only held one a year but was scheduled for last Saturday (Oscar's second week).  Because he was just getting started with scouts, Oscar did not have a lot of time to work on his car.  The wood shop on the local Army base helped us cut the wood and then Oscar painted it and I helped him hammer the wheels on.


We had to go on Friday to have his car inspected before the race on Saturday.  The local Cub Scout group has all sorts of rules.  Some of the rules are universal rules for all cub scouts who race Pinewood Derby cars but others are local rules intended to eliminate unfair advantages.  For example, cars that have an indented front end can start further ahead on the track and start rolling before the other cars:

Oscar chose a Star Wars theme for his car.

At the inspection on Friday night, we had to make sure Oscar's car weighed no more than five ounces.  Heavier cars have more momentum so the goal is to get the weight as close to five ounces as possible without going over the limit.  I helped Oscar glue coins to the bottom of the car and we were able to get the weight up to 4.95 ounces.  We also lubricated the wheels and axles with graphite powder to make them spin with less resistance. 

After passing inspection, Oscar's car was impounded for the night to prevent unauthorized modifications.

Oscar also received his scout uniform at the inspection on Friday.  Tina spent some time on Friday night and several hours on Saturday sewing patches onto his uniform.

When we arrived on Saturday, the leaders were just finishing the final setup.

The younger Tiger scouts raced their cars first.  While the Wolves were waiting for their turn, they walked across the street to the Army library and one of the parents read a book (I don't know names yet).

Finally it was time to race.  Each boy's car was raced three times (once on each lane of the track).  Oscar's car finished 1st, 2nd, and 2nd -- good enough for a third place among the Wolves.

 The top two finishers from each group competed against each other for the trophies.  The two boys that won first and second in Oscar's Wolf den finished first and second overall.  I think Oscar's car was faster than some of the other cars that were in the final round.

After the Wolves were finished racing, there was a lot of standing around and waiting for the older boys to finish.

When all of the races had ended, Oscar got a certificate ("Most Innovative Design"), the trophies were presented, and then we took some group pictures.