Sunday, February 14, 2010
Pinewood Derby 2010
On Feb. 13, 2010, Pack 12 had their annual Pinewood Derby. Our Wolf Scout was able to get his brother and sister a chance to race in the Siblings category, so I bought them each a car kit. They spent a lot of weekends and evenings working on their cars, and it paid of.
We used the World's Most Awesome new saw to cut down the blocks, but then the kids got to work with sandpaper. They sanded, and they sanded, and they sanded. There was a workshop put on by the Pack, and the Shark Car started to show its final form:
For a break we smoothed the wheels and the axles. Then they painted and painted.
Making weight was very important: getting as close as possible to exactly five ounces was critical. Puddles the stuffed duck was one of our chief technicians; it took us a couple of tries to get the weight right: I used fishing weights, washers, official Derby weights, and anything else I could find on my workbench.
Last, we added some final touches, like these eyes for the Shark Car:
The last work was done on Thursday night: cutting it close!
Friday night I joined a few of the Pack's stalwarts -- Mr. Jeff, Mr. Ron, and Mr. Bill, as well as young Josh -- to get the track assembled and wired, which Mrs. Kris set up the kitchen. We got the cones arranged around the track and spread out chairs while a few eager races showed up to have their cars weighed in on the official scale in case extra work was required..
On Saturday morning we were there early (7:45!) since I was working the laptop & race software, and I made sure that the results for each heat were projected on the wall for a full fifteen second before we switched to the next set of cars. :7) There was so much graphite on the cars that by the time we weighed them all in my hands were a rich silver color, and I shudder to think what the inside of the laptop looks like now.
Every car ran two races in each of the four lanes, so there were 94 heats in total. Somehow we finished in just over an hour, which amazed the parents, the leaders, and even the photographer.
The fantastic Shark Car won three of its eight heats, came in second three times, and came in third twice. In fact, it was the fastest car for the first dozen or so heats:
Our Girl Scout made this Toothpaste Car; it finished 23rd out of the 47 racers:
Younger brother -- who will probably join the pack next year -- made the Cheese Car. (The holes suggest a Swiss cheese, probably the classic Gruyere. ) He finished 7th overall and second among the siblings:
Our Wolf Scout produced this man-eating Shark Car, accurate right down to the severed LEGO Guy arm in its fierce mouth. It finished 17th out of 47:
Final portraits of the proud "drivers":
We used the World's Most Awesome new saw to cut down the blocks, but then the kids got to work with sandpaper. They sanded, and they sanded, and they sanded. There was a workshop put on by the Pack, and the Shark Car started to show its final form:
For a break we smoothed the wheels and the axles. Then they painted and painted.
Making weight was very important: getting as close as possible to exactly five ounces was critical. Puddles the stuffed duck was one of our chief technicians; it took us a couple of tries to get the weight right: I used fishing weights, washers, official Derby weights, and anything else I could find on my workbench.
Last, we added some final touches, like these eyes for the Shark Car:
The last work was done on Thursday night: cutting it close!
Friday night I joined a few of the Pack's stalwarts -- Mr. Jeff, Mr. Ron, and Mr. Bill, as well as young Josh -- to get the track assembled and wired, which Mrs. Kris set up the kitchen. We got the cones arranged around the track and spread out chairs while a few eager races showed up to have their cars weighed in on the official scale in case extra work was required..
On Saturday morning we were there early (7:45!) since I was working the laptop & race software, and I made sure that the results for each heat were projected on the wall for a full fifteen second before we switched to the next set of cars. :7) There was so much graphite on the cars that by the time we weighed them all in my hands were a rich silver color, and I shudder to think what the inside of the laptop looks like now.
Every car ran two races in each of the four lanes, so there were 94 heats in total. Somehow we finished in just over an hour, which amazed the parents, the leaders, and even the photographer.
The fantastic Shark Car won three of its eight heats, came in second three times, and came in third twice. In fact, it was the fastest car for the first dozen or so heats:
Our Girl Scout made this Toothpaste Car; it finished 23rd out of the 47 racers:
Younger brother -- who will probably join the pack next year -- made the Cheese Car. (The holes suggest a Swiss cheese, probably the classic Gruyere. ) He finished 7th overall and second among the siblings:
Our Wolf Scout produced this man-eating Shark Car, accurate right down to the severed LEGO Guy arm in its fierce mouth. It finished 17th out of 47:
Final portraits of the proud "drivers":
Labels: scouts
Monday, November 16, 2009
Pack 12 at the Higgins Armory Museum
Many of the Cub Scouts of Pack 12 went to Worcester, MA, to visit the Higgins Armory Museum (www.higgins.org) on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009.
Click on any image to open a new window with a larger version.
The great, purpose-built steel-and-glass Deco building seems an odd fit for Worcester:
It was built in 1931 to house the collection of John Woodman Higgins along with the offices of his Worcester Pressed Steel Company. It is split into two wings, Ancient and Modern, to hold the two halves of the collection. (More details: http://www.higgins.org/About/founder.shtml.)
Everyone lined up outside before going inside:
We were early or they were late, but no one minded: we went up to the Quest Room to wait and there was a lot to do to pass the time: dress-up, checkers & chess tables, stocks (for taking pictures), a view of what knights saw in battle through their tiny helmet eye-slits, giant-size chess, and helmets for the curious:
Eventually our guide, Kim, entered the room. She got the Scouts' attention with a commanding, "Signs up!" Then she helped get everyone oriented with a short talk.
Kim lead everyone downstairs to the amphitheater where she explained the development of the arms & armor in the museum's collection. Several Scouts took part, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
Then we went up to the Great Hall to tour the collection. (The lighting was pretty dim up here.)
The Bear & Weblos Scouts listened attentively while their guide, Dave, explained some of what they were seeing.
Looking up at the Crusader:
Here two knights fight, one in Cub Scout colors:
Click on any image to open a new window with a larger version.
The great, purpose-built steel-and-glass Deco building seems an odd fit for Worcester:
It was built in 1931 to house the collection of John Woodman Higgins along with the offices of his Worcester Pressed Steel Company. It is split into two wings, Ancient and Modern, to hold the two halves of the collection. (More details: http://www.higgins.org/About/founder.shtml.)
Everyone lined up outside before going inside:
We were early or they were late, but no one minded: we went up to the Quest Room to wait and there was a lot to do to pass the time: dress-up, checkers & chess tables, stocks (for taking pictures), a view of what knights saw in battle through their tiny helmet eye-slits, giant-size chess, and helmets for the curious:
Eventually our guide, Kim, entered the room. She got the Scouts' attention with a commanding, "Signs up!" Then she helped get everyone oriented with a short talk.
Kim lead everyone downstairs to the amphitheater where she explained the development of the arms & armor in the museum's collection. Several Scouts took part, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
Then we went up to the Great Hall to tour the collection. (The lighting was pretty dim up here.)
The Bear & Weblos Scouts listened attentively while their guide, Dave, explained some of what they were seeing.
Looking up at the Crusader:
Here two knights fight, one in Cub Scout colors:
Labels: scouts
Monday, October 12, 2009
Cub Scout Wild Wolf Day
On Sunday, October 11, six of the guys in the Wolf Den were at the Wild Wolf Day at Cub World.
There was a brief opening ceremony, then the boys divided into four temporary Dens and went off to one of the Cub World sites for some activities.
There was first aid in the Wild West (where a Boy Scout informed the boys that one could "bleed out" from a housecat's bite, among other dubious medical information); kite-making in the High Seas site; an obstacle course & tug-of-war across from the Mess Hall; and making a den flag and taking a nature hike that started from the Mess Hall.
Here's five of the Pack 12 boiys:
The flag-raising during the opening cermeony:
Digging in during the tug-of-war:
The bolo toss:
Even dads like kites:
Checking out the event's patch:
The end of a fun day:
There was a brief opening ceremony, then the boys divided into four temporary Dens and went off to one of the Cub World sites for some activities.
There was first aid in the Wild West (where a Boy Scout informed the boys that one could "bleed out" from a housecat's bite, among other dubious medical information); kite-making in the High Seas site; an obstacle course & tug-of-war across from the Mess Hall; and making a den flag and taking a nature hike that started from the Mess Hall.
Here's five of the Pack 12 boiys:
The flag-raising during the opening cermeony:
Digging in during the tug-of-war:
The bolo toss:
Even dads like kites:
Checking out the event's patch:
The end of a fun day:
Labels: scouts
Monday, June 15, 2009
Quonset Air Museum
The Cub Scouts in Pack 12 met at the Quonset Air Museum (www.theqam.org) on Sunday June 14 for a tour.
The museum itself has a lot of hardware to see, but much of it needs a lot of restoration. (Think empty fuselage.) Other aircraft, though, are in great shape and there's almost nothing that's off-limits.
(Click on any of these images to open them up, much larger, in a new window.)
We waited at one side of the building, where many of the better-preserved items are lined up:
The first thing we saw when we walked into the hangar was a jet being readied for the Quonset Air Show in two weeks:
Inside the hangar, my two sons immediately went to the dirtiest thing they could find: a jet's tailpipe:
Outside, a rusty Harrier is destined to be a static mount:
There's an F4 Phantom that's had its engines removed. You can stand up where the engine had been mounted and look right out the forward air intake or the back of the plane!
The kids had no idea why you would need stairs on wheels out on a runway.
"Beware of Blast," indeed:
And if you want to help fix these things I guess they're right there for you to get to work:
Obviously, you can get as close as you want:
They told us this was the camera plane from "Top Gun." Who knows if it's true?
A beautiful slice of sky, seen from behind the F-14:
He had no idea what it was, but he sure liked to look of it:
A lovely day:
The place was great fun, but we didn't get a lot of instruction. That said, I would certainly go back because nowhere but Battleship Cove can I get this close to such machines. I just wish they had the money to fund the kind of work you know they want to do.
The museum itself has a lot of hardware to see, but much of it needs a lot of restoration. (Think empty fuselage.) Other aircraft, though, are in great shape and there's almost nothing that's off-limits.
(Click on any of these images to open them up, much larger, in a new window.)
We waited at one side of the building, where many of the better-preserved items are lined up:
The first thing we saw when we walked into the hangar was a jet being readied for the Quonset Air Show in two weeks:
Inside the hangar, my two sons immediately went to the dirtiest thing they could find: a jet's tailpipe:
Outside, a rusty Harrier is destined to be a static mount:
There's an F4 Phantom that's had its engines removed. You can stand up where the engine had been mounted and look right out the forward air intake or the back of the plane!
The kids had no idea why you would need stairs on wheels out on a runway.
"Beware of Blast," indeed:
And if you want to help fix these things I guess they're right there for you to get to work:
Obviously, you can get as close as you want:
They told us this was the camera plane from "Top Gun." Who knows if it's true?
A beautiful slice of sky, seen from behind the F-14:
He had no idea what it was, but he sure liked to look of it:
A lovely day:
The place was great fun, but we didn't get a lot of instruction. That said, I would certainly go back because nowhere but Battleship Cove can I get this close to such machines. I just wish they had the money to fund the kind of work you know they want to do.
Monday, May 18, 2009
2009 Chuck Wagon
May 17, 2009 was the Chuck Wagon event at Buck Hill in Burrillville.
Here the Tiger Cubs pose after completing the Rope Walk, where they picked up a ribbon:
Aidan and Troy go "fishing:"
Far more of these wet sponges went into the woods or hit the staff than "accident" would explain:
At the Rain Gutter Regatta the boys put their lungs to good use:
Here's the safety lecture at the BB gun range, probably the most popular event (and certainly the one with the longest wait):
Tigers on the firing line:
The den pose at one end of the group picture (not looking their best):
The whole pack after lunch:
The consensus second-favorite, archery:
Trust me: they're cutting the log, not taking off his fingers:
Posing with Dad at the awards ceremony:
The Tigers and one of their many ribbons:
Here the Tiger Cubs pose after completing the Rope Walk, where they picked up a ribbon:
Aidan and Troy go "fishing:"
Far more of these wet sponges went into the woods or hit the staff than "accident" would explain:
At the Rain Gutter Regatta the boys put their lungs to good use:
Here's the safety lecture at the BB gun range, probably the most popular event (and certainly the one with the longest wait):
Tigers on the firing line:
The den pose at one end of the group picture (not looking their best):
The whole pack after lunch:
The consensus second-favorite, archery:
Trust me: they're cutting the log, not taking off his fingers:
Posing with Dad at the awards ceremony:
The Tigers and one of their many ribbons:
Labels: scouts
