Come and join us May 17th from 7pm-8pm at New World United Methodist Church for our Spring Rally Night! Potential scouts and their families can play games, meet the leaders, and learn more about our program and schedule at our open house. Rally night is a free come-and-go event. We hope to see you there!

We also have a wide variety of Summer activities.  All are welcome to attend – whether you are already a member, or just considering Scouting for the first time.  Please see the revised flyer below for more information.  We would love to see you there!

Last year, for a conservation service project, we cleaned up a butterfly garden for River Legacy Science Center and the City of Arlington.  The city had asked River Legacy to improve some butterfly gardens, and our work contributed to this effort.  This year, our conservation service project benefited Woodland West Church of Christ.  Our project was to clean up a walking path, which was originally installed by Brennan Spear as an Eagle Service Project in 2013.

It was cold and a windy, but we still had some scouts show up to help clean up the walking path.  Here are some before and after pictures.

Before

After

Thank you to all the scouts who participated!

Boogity, boogity! It’s Pinewood Derby season. 

What is the Pinewood Derby, you ask? It’s Cub Scout tradition where scouts create a car from a BSA approved block of wood (with age-appropriate adult assistance) to race against other scouts.

Please read ALL the rules carefully before designing or building your car.  Click here for the 2019 Rules.

Important dates (see additional details further below):

• Workshop – Saturday, January 5^th 9 am-3 pm at Trinity United Methodist
• Workshop – Saturday, January 12^th from 9 am-12 pm at New World United Methodist Church (NWUMC)
• Workshop – Saturday, January 12^th from 9 am-12 pm at Longhorn Council Office in Hurst
• Check-in – Thursday, January 17^th from 5:30-7:30 pm at NWUMC
• Races – Friday, January 18^th with doors opening at 5:30 pm and races beginning at 6 pm at NWUMC
• Clean-up – Saturday, January 19^th from 9 am until complete at NWUMC

Supplies (buy as soon as possible and bring to workshops if attending or build at home):

• Families will need to purchase a BSA approved pinewood derby kit for each racer.
• There are a number of different styles of kits from a basic block to a pre-cut kit with decals and paint included. All are acceptable as long as the packaging contains the BSA seal of approval.
• These can be purchased at any BSA Scout Shop or most hobby stores (e.g. Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, etc.).
• Most cars will require additional weights that are not included in the standard kit. You can use household items like coins or fishing weights as long as it complies with the other rules for dimensions and how they are affixed to the car. Otherwise, many different types of weights designed specifically for pinewood derby cars can also be purchased at the same locations listed above.
• Some car kits come with wheels and axels, but some will need to be purchased separately.
• Cars should be decorated. You will need to supply your own materials for paint, etc.

Workshops:

• Workshops are an excellent opportunity to utilize resources like specialized tools that you may not otherwise have available as well as seasoned pinewood derby craftsman.
• Workshops are come and go. You may arrive when convenient and stay as long as you need (within the timeframe given).
• You may attend as many as you like. You don’t have to pick just one. It is also not required that you attend any if you don’t need any help.
• You must bring your own pinewood materials to the workshop. This includes a BSA approved block of wood (not just any kind of wood) as well as BSA wheels and axles.
• It is helpful if you have a concept in mind, but there will be templates and design books on hand if you need help with that too.
• Whether you attend a workshop or construct on your own, all cars must adhered to all of the 2019 Official Pinewood Derby Rules. Please read them carefully.

Check-in:

• ALL cars must be checked in on Thursday in order to participate in the races as well as be judged for design awards. You may not check-in on race day. NO EXCEPTIONS!
• We ask that each scout bring a $5 raffle prize to check-in. These will be distributed on race day and everyone will go home with a prize.
• At check-in, cars will be sorted by rank and assigned a number. Scouts will also need to name their car.
• Cars must pass inspection to be turned-in. See also 2019 Official Pinewood Derby Rules for inspection criteria and other rules.
• Cars that don’t pass inspection will have an opportunity to make adjustments. There will even be a “pit crew” on hand to assist with things like wheel alignment, graphite, and weight.
• Once cars are inspected and checked-in, no modifications may be made and access to these cars will not be available.
• This is also a come and go event. You may arrive any time within the 5:30-7:30 pm window to check-in your car. We do encourage everyone to arrive earlier than later though, because we do develop a line at check-in and cars often don’t pass inspection the first time, in which case you will need time to make adjustments.

Race Day:

• Doors open at 5:30 pm and races start promptly at 6 pm.
• This is a popular event and is often crowded, loud, and can be long. Young children may appreciate ear protection and/or activities to keep them busy.
• Free pizza, drinks, and cookies are provided, however, we will be accepting donations to offset the cost.
• The Lions will be the first heat and will be followed by subsequent ranks through Arrow of Light.
• Siblings may also race, but will be in the “Open” division following the Arrow of Light.
• The last race of the night is the finals, which will include the top two races from each rank (not including Open division).
• The 1^st place through 3^rd place winners from each division as well as the finals will be recognized.
• We will also award design winners in several categories (Best Design, Fastest Looking, Most Original, Funniest Car, Best Scout Theme, Cubmaster’s Choice).
• We will have raffle prizes throughout the night until everyone has received a prize. If you need to leave early and your scout has not yet received a prize, you may grab one when you leave.

Clean-up:

• Many hands make light work. We could use as many volunteers as possible to clean-up after the race. The more people we have the quicker it will go.
• Please see also the signup genius at bit.ly/PWD-Cleanup