Boys and Girls Club Pinewood Derby
What could be more fun than to mix kids and toy cars? That’s exactly what recently happened on a fine afternoon at the Boys and Girls Club in Newhall—part of their Summer Brain Gain STEAM program. But, things weren’t exactly straightforward.
Over a five-day program, the youngsters designed, built and raced small cars made of blocks of wood from Pinewood Derby kits. But first, as a retired engineer, I immersed the club members in the science behind fast cars. Everyone trooped outside and studied real cars to learn about streamlining. Then I explained frontal area, friction, and momentum—a little scary for seven to fourteen year olds!
Then the boys and girls applied their newfound wisdom to their own design. After a lesson on how engineers make real drawings, the kids sketched two and three views of their proposed car. After Bill’s critique, everyone made full-size drawings and pasted paper cutouts on blocks of wood.
Then things got fun. I band-sawed the cars according to everyone’s drawings. The result was crude, so with Darleen Lyons’ assistance, the kids wielded wood rasps and sandpaper to their emerging machines, finalizing the shape. Everyone scurried outside to spray-paint their cars any color they wished. Janine Fairall, supervising the job, ended up with multicolored hands and a huge grin. The following day, everyone broke out colored pens and decorated their racers.
Race day was a cacophony of chants, cheers and groans. Janine launched the cars down a thirty-foot ramp, four at a time, and an electronic timer flashed first, second, third and fourth place. The room swarmed with spectators as well as participants… a melee! Every racer ran a three-heat preliminary and the four winners went on the finals, also of three heats. Darleen, a retired accountant, dutifully recorded the results.
But that’s not all. In addition to racing, the cars
were judged on how well the lessons of science were incorporated into the design. Also the cars were evaluated on construction elements: smooth finish, paint, decorations and creativity. Once more, Darleen tallied the scores and announced the results. The grand finale: trophies to the winners! The day wrapped up with happy kids and weary adults. Yes, the Boys and Girls Club hopes to do it again. Maybe next January?