As part of LMN outreach, I’ve been talking with a cub scout pack from Okemos about helping them build their Pinewood Derby cars. If you’re not familiar with the derby, it’s an annual event in Scouting, where the scouts build a car from a wood block, and race them. LMN would provide a space and guidance in using hand tools to allow the scouts to shape and customize their cars.
We have tentatively scheduled the evenings of Thursday, Jan 23 and 30 to do this. I’m looking for 2-4 people to be there to assist. All tools used by scouts will be hand tools. They are encouraged to do as much as possible themselves. The time commitment will be about 2 hours, and the scouts will range from about 7 to 12 years old. We tentatively expect to have about 20 kids each session, and each will have a parent or guardian with them. You can volunteer for either or both times.
If you’re interested, please contact me or reply here. This is an opportunity for LMN to get our name out in the public, and maybe even recruit a few new members.
We were tentatively planning to do these on 2 weeknghts - jan 23 and 30. But the scout leaders feel a week night wouldn’t allow enough time. Would the volunteers be available on sunday afternoon or evening, jan 26 and feb 2?
Thank you to all who are interested. We are still trying to set firm dates for this. I appreciate your patience, and I’ll post the dates here as soon as i can.
My contact with the cub scout pack says that there are 6 scouts confirmed for Jan 26, and 3 for Feb 2. But she has not yet heard back from the entire group. I will pass along updates as I get them.
I’ve been told that we will have about 7 scouts for each session. So if it’s possible, can Lex and Charlie come this week - Jan 26, and Troy and Lou come next week? If that doesn’t work, come when you can, or post here with what works for you.
The work will entail helping the scouts cut their cars from a block of wood to their desired shape using a hand saw, then sanding it as needed. We may need a few extra hand saws. I think coping saws will probably be best. If you have one or 2 you could bring, that would be great.
Today was the 2nd Pinewood Derby work day, and both of them went very well. I want to extend my thanks to the volunteers who helped with this. I have preliminary feedback from the scout leaders in this pack that says the scouts and the parents were pleased with our help with their kids. It was a great way for LMN to do a little community outreach, and let Lansing know we are here.