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I was recently a Cub Scout and remember the fun and excitement that made the pinewood derby the highlight of all of Cub Scouts in my opinion. This exiting event sounds almost ridiculously simple if you think about how it sounds: each scout receives a block of pine wood, and with the help of parents and advisors, turns it into a car that is raced against others' cars once a year. But there were several important goals of the event that I was taught by my parents and leaders that helped to make it the highlight of the year for me. Other leaders could help make the derby as positive for other scouts, too, (and prevent a lot of the disappointment when some of the scouts don't win). All the scouts' reception to the outcome of the race could be as positive as mine if a few things are kept in mind during the process of planning the activity, building the car and hosting the event. Their memories could always be special like mine are to me, no matter how their car performs.

The first is fun. For a cub scout, there are few things as fun as watching the car you built race against other cars. The second is the bonding between the cub scouts. Most of the time - if leaders and parents do their jobs - you feel as happy for the other scouts when they win as you do for yourself. The third is developing the relationship with your leaders. Building and designing the car is a bonding experience with your father, mother and scout leaders that is as important as the actual event itself. And fourth is fostering the scouts' creativity. Many times it isn't as much about speed as it is coming up with a unique design. So if scouts, parents and leaders have goals like these, everyone will have a great time, whatever the placement of the individual scouts' car, or even if they loose when winning was the most important thing to them in the world.

Although there are some technical rules in designing the car itself, what the scout does in many ways is entirely up to them - helping them express their own tastes and creativity. In my scouting experience I've seen all kinds of designs: cars, trucks, model cars and cars that express the individual personality of the scout. I've found that some families get very "into it" and do special things to the cars with the specific goal of above all, winning. Others, like me, who made designs just for the fun of it, created cool and unique cars, and didn't particularly care who won. In fact, I was as happy for my friends that seemed to care a lot about

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