SARATOGA SPRINGS — Laughter and squeals of excitement are common at The Children’s Museum at Saratoga but on Monday, Oct. 13, a group of kids weren’t screaming for the exhibits – they were cheering each other on in the museum’s second annual Pinewood Derby.
Close to a dozen boys and girls, ages six and up, designed their own pinewood derby car and raced for goodie bags and the coveted 2014 Pinewood Derby trophy.
The race takes place on a plastic racetrack. Each car is placed above the drawbridge in its own lane at the top of the track. The race is started by releasing the drawbridge, allowing the cars to roll down the ramp. The first to reach the finish line at the bottom is the winner.
Organizers say the museum typically does workshops and activities targeted at children ages three to five, and wanted to attract older kids as well.
“It’s been something that’s been done by Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts but we wanted to try and open it up for the community,” said Lindsay Carr, Education Coordinator at The Children’s Museum of Saratoga. “Especially where STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) is really important, we’re trying to figure out fun and creative ways to meet those needs.”
Equipped with markers, stickers and toy bugs, the children personalized their cars; but it wasn’t all about arts and crafts. Sponsored by The Adirondack Trust Company and Munter Enterprises, the event was also an opportunity for kids to learn about the physics behind pinewood derby cars, like
weight distribution.
“We’re going to experiment and talk about how adding weight to a car could help it go faster or slower,” said Carr. “That’s where the science comes in. It’s basically just all about having fun and they learn about science along the way.”
Through experimentation, the kids learned how weight distribution impacts the velocity of the car. They were able to form their own hypothesis and use that knowledge in building their own cars. Brother and sister pair, 9-year-old Esther and 4-year-old Teddy, chose to add weights to their cars to increase speed.
“It has a ladybug on it and I wrote my name on my car and I have two different weights on each side,” said Esther. “It will go fast.”
Esther named her car “Zoom Zoom” while Teddy named his “Hot Rod.”
“I have an orange bug on mine,” said Teddy.
After a number of races, Teddy took home the coveted 2014 Pinewood Derby trophy with Esther cheering him on.
“The kids understand that it’s really about having fun, learning, and then it’s about racing,” said Carr.
The Pinewood Derby is just one of a variety of STEM initiatives at the museum.
“We have a weekly science program children can participate in. We do a lot of science learning,” said Carr. “We actually just put in our Silly Science Center as well.”
The most popular weekly program, Silly Science, gives children the opportunity to discover the different ways science is all around them by enjoying a different theme each week. Silly Science takes place every Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and is available for children ages three and up.
