Pinewood Derby comes to Queens

One of the great traditional car races for kids is coming to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
The Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America will hold the City finals of the “pinewood derby,” beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 12 at the New York Hall of Science, at 47-01 111th Street.
Since 1953, millions of young people have built pinewood derby cars. The competitions remain very popular and are a highlight of each year in many Cub Scout packs, according to the Council.
Reader’s Digest included the event in its tabulation of “America’s 100 Best.”
The derby is an annual event of the Cub Scouts (the division of scouting for boys between six and 10 years-of-age). The movement is divided into divisions by age: Tigers, Bears, Wolves and Weblos.
Entrants are given a block of wood made of pine with two notches for wheels, four plastic wheels and four nails. The finished car must use all nine pieces, and cannot exceed five ounces in weight or specified length and width.
Other than that, anything goes, and entries have ranged from simple blocks to whimsical shapes to accurate models of real cars.
The idea behind the event is for an adult partner to spend time with the child, helping him design, carve, paint and tune the final design.
Division winners from each of eight Scouting districts in the city compete for city-wide divisional titles, and receive trophies and other prizes.
Last year, the Wolf Cub (seven-year-olds) division was won by Pack 93’s Matthew Allie of Maspeth, and the best-in-show trophy went to Pack 106 Cub Scout Vincent Quagliata, 10, of Middle Village.