Awana Grand Prix 2010

Awana Grand Prix is a pinewood derby race. Every 'child' is given a block of pinewood and axles and 4 wheels. Their job is to decorate the car and get it to run as fast as it can. The children are very creative in their designs. They do have to follow the rules.

One of the most important rules is to get your car as close to 5 ounces without going over. Weight is really important in getting a gravity powered car to go quickly. They work hard at sanding their axles and using graphite so they can minimize friction. The ones really trying to win the speed race go for an aerodynamic shape.

This year we used a different track. This one was shorter and had four lanes rather than our usual two. Having four lanes made it so things moved a lot faster. We had about 80 clubbers cars to race. Mr. Bingham and my Dad placed the cars and got everything lined up and ready to go. The track had a timing system that was able to time each car down to a thousandth of a second. Very high tech!

The clubbers had a great time and there was good sportsmanship by all the children. The room got a little warm as you can tell by the bright red cheeks on Jenna.

There was an open race for the adults. They were more competitive than the children. There were some pretty impressive cars. They allow the adults to use more weight, solid axles and different wheels if they want. They used to allow them to use power sources, but that got a little bit too much.

Here JoAn and Mr. Boots were helping run the sound system. We have a great announcer for the races.

This is Elizabeth's car that Michelle 'helped' (Made) her make. It is three Indians in a canoe with a fur bale. One of the Indians has a papoose on her back.

This is Mr. Boots 'car'. he installed LED lights in the front and flashing ones in the back. He won second place for speed in the Trek/Journey division.

These are just some pictures of some creative cars. The top one is an ice cream sandwich, the second is a carrot and the bottom is a blackberry phone. Well done!

The top three out of all the groups got trophies. The hot air balloon one was the third place winner and was won by my niece Joy. The top part was removable for going down the track.

The ear of corn won second place. Good job Daniel!

In first place we have Michelle's lighthouse car. She used clay for the buildings and the boats and gelatin for the water. Notice the rocks jutting out of the water. It took a lot of time and thought. Way to go!

Love ya girlfriend!

~Mom