Space Derby – “Linus Twelve Four”

For Ricky’s Pack Meeting the end of April, they held a Space Derby.  I knew about Pinewood Derbies and even Rain-gutter Regattas, but the Space Derby was new to me.  Each boy created a rocket and then they were raced down a fishing line race track.  Rubber bands are added and twisted to give the rocket momentum and speed.

We are all about letting our boys do their own creating for projects like this, so we discussed with Ricky what he wanted his rocket to look like before letting him go with the paint.  He wanted it to look like a cat.  Like our Linus cat to be exact.  So we let him.

Kevin worked with him and showed him how to sand it and smooth it out.  Ricky didn’t think it needed to be very circular, just a little off the edges was good enough for him.  He even added the red since our Linus cat wears a red collar.

He was very pleased with himself for doing it all on his own.

When it was finished, it was time to name the rocket.  He stuck to his Linus theme and named it “the Linus Twelve Four.”

The Linus Twelve Four did quite well, actually.  It raced three times and came in a close second each time!  You were allowed to twist your propeller 100 times and we later learned that in at least two of the races, the rocket that won was twisted much more than 100 times.  Ricky was happy with how his rocket did but more excited to bring his unharmed rocket home and put it on his shelf.

Compete in Space Derby.  Check.

Have a good time.  Check, check.

Hang onto rocket designed like a cat for years and years to come.  Quite possibly check, check, check.