PinewoodPhysics.com

[jpswensen]

Dr. Scott Acton and I recently completed and have started selling an educational video entitled "Physics and the Pinewood Derby".

Physics and the Pinewood Derby is a feature-length educational DVD that teaches science and math through the pinewood derby race cars. It presents a perfect way to encourage your child's interest in math and science, while spending time together building a great car. In the video, you and your child will learn: 1) The science behind the pinewood derby presented by a PhD in physics. 2) Tips and techniques to build a fast car, including Dr. Acton's unique wheel alignment fixture. 3) Instructions on how to build a simple two lane track in your garage to perform experiments and test your cars.

During one year while Dr. Scott Acton's son was participating in the pinewood derby contest associated with their local Cub Scout pack, his son had begun to show a greater interest in math and science. Dr. Acton saw an opportunity and used the pinewood derby to teach and encourage his son to learn more. Upon telling other parents in their pack about the fun they had and the relationship they developed by working together on their cars, and to help the pack get better at building pinewood derby cars, they invited Dr. Acton to make a presentation to the pack on what they had learned. As time passed Dr. Acton realized that he could share what he had learned with a greater audience, and Physics and the Pinewood Derby was conceived.

There is a 4 minute trailer available on our website at www.pinewoodphysics.com and many other pictures and description of the video content.

[DerbyDoc.com]

Ive been looking at the site. The video looks really good, and well produced. I think this will help out a lot of parent, and child teams with their project. I think it will keep the kids attention also.

[litnfast]

yes, I got the video. It goes over alot of information for a beginner. I feel that there are many more points that could be covered. It was a good watch and alot of good information. more info than most of the other pinewood videos out there and I have watched several. I think everyone will take something from this but I would not recomend it to the pros for the price.

just my 2 pennies.
steve

[ichiban]

Have not seen the video for a couple of months but what stands out as unique are the sections on:
...quickly built test track
...using set screws for the alignment
...application of histograms(and other diagrams) in testing
...explanation of why even a long shot can come in LOL; it's an explanation of why a slower car can beat a faster car

and the production quality is good.

Just to add, the DVD contains three pdf files accessible via a computer: a material checklist; a tool checklist; and a template of the professors car design.

[jpswensen]

We just recently started offering the video as a download also (for those who procrastinate until the last moment like I often do). Of course, it is just and MPEG-4 file and doesn't have chapter selection from a DVD menu, but it still comes with the PDF files mentioned above. The download is pretty fast also; my tests ranges from 500 KBps to 2 MBps depending on whether I downloaded from home or school.

[dstory]

Being a math teacher, I liked the use of histograms and such to display data. All-around a good video.

Don
ShapeNRace.com