Re: Pinewood Derby
Michael F. Bowman (mfbowman@CAPACCESS.ORG)
Fri, 19 Jan 1996 03:17:13 -0500
Chris,
In an ideal world each Cub Scout with a LITTLE help from his parents
would build his own car growing in self-confidence at his ability to
learn and use new skills. In the real world there are all too many
parents that are so focused on the car winning that the Cub may never do
more than watch the car being built. I've even seen cases where a Dad
was afraid to let the Cub handle the car, fearing it would get damaged.
Sadly these eager parents are depriving their sons of a wonderful chance
to grow, learn and just plain have fun.
A wonderful solution used successfully by many Packs (including my own
when I was Cubmaster) is to have a Derby Day that features morning Cub
Competitions, Parent Races, Sibling Races, Grudge Matches and Funny Cars.
You know how much trouble it is to get the track set up and working well,
so why not take advantage of it once its set up and at the same time see
to it that every Scout has fun, win or not.
When we used this approach some families purchased as many as four kits!
The wonderful thing was that Dad, Mom and other family members were so
busy perfecting their cars, they didn't have time to ruin the Cub's
chance to make his own car. There were a few exceptions, but a lot less
than in just a cut and dried Pinewood Derby.
The Parent races were dead serious with some of the best looking cars you
ever saw. Brothers and sisters had a wonderful time too.
The grudge matches were a hoot. Cubs were allowed to pick and challenge
anyone. The Cubmaster's car got a real workout and routinely lost. :-(
The funny car races had to be seen. We saved these for last to keep
everyone in good spirits at the end. We had one that the Cubs dubbed the
Elvismobile. The car was covered with three colors of glitter under
several coats of verathane to keep it smooth. The underside was hollowed
out nearly to the top to form a battery compartment. The rear end had a
hole large drilled large enough to place a flashlight bulb in about 1/4
from the surface. A translucent plastic flame was inserted into the hole
and lit up when the car was switched on. Small diodes were used for head
and tail lights with requisite interior channels (tough to drill).
Another car had a flashing red light on top. Still another funny car had
a internal rubber band drive that caused a propeller to spin on top of
the car, hence helo-car. Another car was made in pieces that were stuck
together with glue stick. At the bottom of the track the car literally
exploded into pieces and had to be reassembled later. The Cubs really
liked that one. We even had one that made sounds. A parent had taken a
sound greeting card apart and then put the sound components into the car.
We had awards for the parent, sibling and funny car races too. For the
funny cars the award was a set of donated amusement park tickets given to
the car voted by the Cubs to have been the most fun to watch. The
Elvismobile came in second to the exploding car. Nobody wanted to leave
until the last car had been tested on the track.
Of course, if you do this, you really have to pump up everyone to
participate and give them plenty of ideas. Doesn't hurt to challenge a
few folks too.
Hope this will give you a few ideas for rollicking good time.
Speaking Only for Myself in the Scouting Spirit, Michael F. Bowman
a/k/a Professor Beaver (WB), ASTA #2566, OA Vigil Honor '71, Eagle
Scout '67, Serving as Deputy District Commissioner for Training,
G.W.Dist., Nat. Capital Area Council, BSA - mfbowman@capaccess.org
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
