Scouts from around our area watch the 2-second run of cars at the Pinewood Derby on Saturday at the Westfield Annapolis mall. Photo by Mitchelle Stephenson for the Capital.
By MITCHELLE STEPHENSON, For The Capital
For the Boy Scouts, the annual Pinewood Derby races not only help to teach them about balance and physics, but about woodworking and sportsmanship.
For the Girl Scouts, a troop of fourth-graders has spent the last six months working on their bronze award, the highest honor in junior Girl Scouting. In order to earn the award, they have to complete the work on several badges, plus commit at least 15 hours each to a significant project of community service.
The Boy Scouts' Pinewood Derby took place last weekend at the Westfield Annapolis mall. It was an opportunity to compete against Scouts from area packs and troops.
"It is a little competition that gives them camaraderie and gives them a chance to meet other Scouts," unit commissioner Bob Hogan said. He added that aside from Camp Tomahawk, Scouts from different packs and troops rarely have an opportunity to interact.
The cars are made out of blocks of wood, metal axles and plastic wheels. They typically come as kits, but the Scouts have to come up with a design. They cut, carve and sand the block into the shape of a car, drill the holes for the axles and attach the wheels. The cars are powered by gravity and run on a wooden track separated by six lanes.
The race starts when six cars are placed into the chute, which stands about 5 feet off the ground. The chute is released manually, which triggers a timer. The cars race down the slope to a long straightaway.
The cars pass under an electronic timing device that measures to one-thousandth of a second. They know whose car came in first, and whose came in last, by the digital display at the finish line. A moment later, it is posted on a leader board.
The boys gather around the track at the finish line and cheer for each 2 to 3-second run of cars.
There were roughly four-dozen cars competing.
Troop 853 of Shady Side had several competitors. Eight-year-old friends Riley Christian, Matthew Thompson and Joshua Baker sat together. The boys are friends, Scouts and classmates at Shady Side Elementary School.
"I like the show Knightrider, so I just made my car like that," Riley said.
"My car is called 'Jedi Starfighter,'" Matthew said. "It took 3 days to make it."
"It took me two weeks," Joshua said. He continued, "I carved it with my dad, then we sanded it with sandpaper. Then I helped to hold the drill. I painted it black with a little bit of red and called it 'Gravedigger.'"
Other troops from south county included Troop 1214 from Davidsonville, Pack and Troop 249 from Edgewater, Pack and Troop 815 from Londontown, and Pack 453 from Mayo.
Be sure to read Diane Rey's "Around Annapolis" column in tomorrow's Capital for more on the Pinewood Derby (and the results).
In Davidsonville, Girl Scout Troop 1474 has had a busy fall. The fourth graders began the work on their bronze award in October, and will finish the final aspect of the work at the Girl Scout Mardi Gras Jamboree on Feb. 27 at Central Middle School. While there, they will present a badge for other Scouts to earn - the "global awareness" badge.
The girls began the process of earning their bronze award by creating country profile reports for a variety of somewhat obscure countries selected by their bronze badge coordinator Jenn Beall, an adult leader in the troop.
Jenn didn't want them to learn about things they were familiar or comfortable with, so she didn't select any European or particularly large countries: no France, no Russia, no China.
Instead, they looked at countries like Cameroon, Thailand, Ethiopia, Jordan and Iceland. Each girl was expected to answer an extensive series of questions on their country.
"I was completely amazed. Instead of spoon feeding them this stuff, they took responsibility for their own projects," Troop Leader Sandra Brooks said.
Allison Arslanian was the first girl to hand in her project. She'd been assigned the country of Thailand. Allison said that she had to learn about the language, traditions, games, homes and what life is like in Thailand.
"They have a city on water and some of the houses are floating," she said. She continued, "they have Girl Scouts there called baby birds and blue birds."
She was very interested in the food: "They have a soup, 'Tom Yum Goong' which is a prawn soup," Allison said. "I want to try it because I really like shrimp."
Edie Falk, 9, was assigned Iceland. As part of her research, Edie tried 'Skyr.'
"It is a yogurty cheese that tastes weird," she said.
Once the girls each finished their reports, they selected Jordan to present at Mardi Gras. They worked together to make a "Fun Facts" book, which contains word searches, country facts, crossword puzzles and maps. Any Scout who stops by their station at the Mardi Gras Jamboree will have an opportunity to fill out the booklet and earn a patch.
In earning their bronze award, the girls of Troop 1474 are also helping other Girl Scouts learn about Scouting traditions around the globe.
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