Our First Pinewood Derby

Lewie joined the Cub Scouts this fall, and so we've already had a lot of firsts...

- First time Scouting for Food
- First Raingutter Regata
- First hike with the Tigers
- First Pack Meeting and Den Meeting

and then...the first Pinewood Derby race!!  We didn't know what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised.  Little Lewie and Daddy worked on their car for close to 6 hours--first in carving it out of wood, then in painting it, and then in adding weights to the car...  Their outcome looked like this.

All the boys from the pack enjoyed the race, and honestly, I think the adults enjoyed it a tad bit more.  There were 30 cars in all--cars made by the Tigers, the Bears, the Wolves, and the Webelos.  It was a highly competitive race,  but in the end, the "best car" (or at least the fastest) won.  Some cars won certificates for honors such as "Most Creative," "Best Paint Job," and "Funniest;"  some cars won competitions within their own ranks, and three cars won slots for First, Second, and Third Place.

I have to brag that Lewie didn't do half bad either.  He won as the fastest Tiger, and he came in 5th out of the 30 cars.  He may not have taken home any trophies, but he earned a Pinewood Derby badge.  He also made it to  the last few races, which means we had the benefit of watching him race over and over again; he was not eliminated until the very end.

The 30 cars in the race!



Look at the detail on some of these cars!



Flashing his "prize" badge and car!  (Can you tell he's a little upset about not winning?!)

Lewie, fighting back tears, was a little sad he wasn't the grand champion, but we reminded him the event was all about having fun--not winning.  (A hard lesson to teach a child...let alone an adult.)

I had fun watching the races and seeing all the colorful cars--we had a Bat Mobile, a camouflage car, a Muppets car, a car shaped like a block, etc. etc.  Some of the cars that I thought would be the fastest were eliminated rather quickly while other cars I thought would perform poorly stayed in the race for a long time!  I don't know if there is a true method to building the fastest car, but if there is, I'm certain little Lewie and Daddy will research it for next year!

(By the way, my husband has been having such a great time with the Cub Scouts, he's officially decided to go through training to become the next Scout Master.)  I must say I'm rather proud of my two boys.  May we have many, many more memories of scouting together...