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| The line up. Ethan's car is 4th from the left. |
Believe it or not this is our first pinewood derby. Carter did the rain gutter regata and the spaceship derby when he was in cubs...and I think they skipped a race one year year. Then last year we were in NY/NJ/PA for Ben's wedding. So last night was the first time we ever had a pinewood derby car in our home.
It was intense.
Ethan came up with the design all on his own. When we asked him where he got the idea, he replied, "I saw on
Ruff Ruffman how the best design for a soap box derby car was one with the least wind resistance. I figured it would work the same for a Pinewood derby car too."
(this is the part where I would like to thank PBS for my children's education. Olivia knows the most amazing things and it is all in part to hours spent in front of your shows. Except for Caillou. That show makes us dumber)
JaDee taught Ethan what tools to use and how to use them and came up with the genius way to drill holes in the back of the car, fill them with lead shot from emptying a few shot gun shells, and covering them with black duct tape to reach the 5 oz. weight that is outlined in the rules. Don't worry. They used the scale at the post office to measure the shotgun shells as they were breaking them open and pouring the lead BB's into the back of the car.
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| Aren't those stands awesome. Ethan's den leader, whom Ethan idolizes, made them. She is AWESOME!!! |
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| Ethan's time is 2.355. He came in first or second place in every race. That Ruff Ruffman really does know what he is talking about! |
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| Ethan comes in second in this race to the car that ended up winning the overall race of the night. |
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| Ethan setting up at the top of the track. |
The whole thing took about an hour. It was the smoothest running pinewood derby I have ever heard of. Our assistant den leader did an AMAZING job setting up a fair bracket on a computer spreadsheet that rotated the cars against each other and in different lanes. Instead of recording each time every time, each car got points for coming in first, second, or third. Overall Ethan came in third with 26 points. Second had 27 points and First had 29 points. I guess these things can last hours!!! But it was perfect. Well done everyone!
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6 comments:
Great job Ethan, cool car! I may need to watch that guy on PBS
Way to go! After our pinewood derby experience I will forever cringe when one is announced, though! And Ethan is looking so much like Jadee in those pics, and like Carter too (which I know, they don't really look alike, I think it's the mop of brown, wavy hair) and I am not used to seeing your kids with brown hair.
Also, today we went and picked up Brooke after being gone for a week and Brooke's hair was slicked back in this little pony tail and I thought "holy cow! She looks like Olivia!"
Wow, that is awesome, and great idea to give the car some more weight!!
Also, I love your quote about Caillou. That kid is a menace....
Woohoo! We'll have ours in a couple of weeks. We're using that spreadsheet too. Should be much better than the old bracket system.
Ingenious! If I am ever involved in a pinewood derby, I am revisiting this post for tips.
I totally don't get pinewood derbies. About the only calling in the church I would seriously start smoking over is Scouts. Which means I'll probably get it next :) And congrats on staying in AL. From all the AF people here, it seems like a great place!
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