Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Pinewood Derby


 Every year the pinewood derby seems to be a big deal at our house.  This year they said siblings could make cars and unofficially race them if they want.  I was really on the fence if we should do that or not because we are so busy but Bob thought it was a great idea.  He asked the kids who wanted to make them and of course they all did.  So Bob and I ended up helping the kids make four cars.

Bob was finishing up making his CNC machine so he "helped" the kids by cutting out their cars on it.  The kids got to design their cars on the computer and then watch the machine cut them out.  They then got to sand and paint them.
 I helped them with coming up with their ideas of how they wanted their car to look.

Bob helped the kids with the weights.  I said we shouldn't bother with them because I just don't care that much about the outcome of the race but once again Bob asked the kids if they wanted their cars to go fast and they all shouted "yes."
Tucker's car.  His is the only one we used the official pinewood derby kit to make.  The rest were made out of wood we had around the house.
 Penelope's shoe car.
 Scarlett wanted one that looked like a car with the number 5 on it.
 Leon had the hardest time picking a car design.  We looked up ideas online and he pretty much wanted everything.  He finally settled on fire, but I had to force him to make a decision.
 It was kind of funny because last year Bob and Tucker were really into making the car as fast as possible.  They talked a lot about aerodynamics and many youtube videos were watched.  This year bob just helped Tucker make it how he wanted and didn't worry about speed very much.  The funny thing is that his car turned out faster this year than before.
 The kids always get so excited to watch the races.



Tucker got first place!  There was a mixup with the scores and a glitch in the computer so we first thought he got second, which was fine.  Once everything was recalculated we realized that Tucker got first in the Bears and first overall.  He was thrilled and got to go to districts.  I thought I might be having the baby around that time and wouldn't go.  Unfortunately, districts have came and gone and I'm still pregnant.

Tucker was so excited to race at districts.  He didn't place but I was really happy with how he managed to keep a good attitude the entire time.  It was long for everyone else and the other kids were getting restless.
We have one more year of the pinewood derby and then a break for a few years until Leon turns 8.

2 comments:

Gayle Daly said...

Love the pink shoe one.

Shelbee on the Edge said...

We participated in our first pinewood derby this year. Our cars were super slow because we had no idea about weighting them to
make them faster! I was super glad about the siblings race because my 4 year is an honorary Cub Scout! He attends every meeting and does everything with the older boys. But I have to say the shoe car is my absolutely favorite! My sons made a Minecraft creeper car and a lego car this time around. I look forward to designing them again next year.

Shelbee
www.shelbeeontheedge.com