Physics and the Pinewood Derby DVD Giveaway (2013)

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jpswensen
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Physics and the Pinewood Derby DVD Giveaway (2013)

Post by jpswensen »

Just thought I would stop in an mention our educational video about building a Pinewood Derby car. I posted a couple of years ago, but thought it was worth mentioning again as our website is updated to better reflect the video content and we now offer the video as a download and on DVD.
Physics and the Pinewood Derby website

Overview
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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.

Content
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It is kindof cool to see that our video introduction is the 11th most watched video all-time if you search for "pinewood derby" on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/

Here are some other videos that show snippets of what the video teaches:
The science of the pinewood derby

https://youtu.be/

https://youtu.be/

Building a fast car

https://youtu.be/

Building a test track in your garage

https://youtu.be/
Last edited by jpswensen on Tue Jan 08, 2013 7:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
jpswensen
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Re: Physics and the Pinewood Derby Video

Post by jpswensen »

Physics and the Pinewood Derby DVD Sweepstakes

This season (2013) we decided to run a social media contest to give away ten (10) copies of the DVD. All that is required is that you go and "Like" our page on Facebook and then submit an email address. Your email will only be used if you are one of the 10 winners (I hate spam from contests more than almost anything on planet earth).
Facebook Fan Page
Facebook Contest Page

We hope that you will also go ahead and share the Facebook and Sweepstakes pages with any of your friends, Packs, local high school physics teachers, etc.
PhantomVirus
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Re: Physics and the Pinewood Derby DVD Giveaway (2013)

Post by PhantomVirus »

I bought your DVD 2+ years ago when my son was a Tiger. We watched that DVD at least 25 times - my son can explain the physics to other scouts and we won 1st place in the Pack 2 years running, and 1st place in Districts in 2010.

I cannot say enough about this education DVD. I even used your info to build my own track for testing (and my kids play with it on the off season)!

THANK YOU for making this available & keeping the cost reasonable.

Best regards!!
Ron
jpswensen
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Re: Physics and the Pinewood Derby DVD Giveaway (2013)

Post by jpswensen »

PhantomVirus wrote:I bought your DVD 2+ years ago when my son was a Tiger. We watched that DVD at least 25 times - my son can explain the physics to other scouts and we won 1st place in the Pack 2 years running, and 1st place in Districts in 2010.

I cannot say enough about this education DVD. I even used your info to build my own track for testing (and my kids play with it on the off season)!

THANK YOU for making this available & keeping the cost reasonable.

Best regards!!
Ron
These are the stories we love to hear. When we hear this, it make us feel that we really achieved the goal of the video, which was to teach the *why* and not just the *how*. We have a list of other success stories at http://pinewoodphysics.com/Success_Stories.html" target="_blank

Do you care if I add this post to the list of success stories?
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drathbun
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Re: Physics and the Pinewood Derby DVD Giveaway (2013)

Post by drathbun »

Just my opinion, but there should be a way to be eligible for stuff like this without being forced to join FarceBook...
jpswensen
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Re: Physics and the Pinewood Derby DVD Giveaway (2013)

Post by jpswensen »

drathbun wrote:Just my opinion, but there should be a way to be eligible for stuff like this without being forced to join FarceBook...
I can add you to to the list of people entered into the contest. Since I don't have your email, is it OK to contact you via PM on this website if you are randomly chosen as a winner?

This year we were exploring new ways of advertising and a social media campaign seemed like a good idea. The problem with a regular contest (e.g. not requiring a "Like" on Facebook) cannot guarantee that the person interested will pass it along to friends/acquaintances. The simple fact is that we have seen a significant spike in web traffic since starting the contest, something we haven't seen when trying advertising any other way.
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drathbun
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Re: Physics and the Pinewood Derby DVD Giveaway (2013)

Post by drathbun »

Oh believe me, I completely understand. :) From the marketing perspective FB does offer a number of advantages. It's just that there are various issues about their service (privacy issues for one) that have made me decide not to sign up. On that front, it's frustrating for an end user because so many companies are requiring this sort of participation. It was that frustration that caused me to post last night.

I appreciate the offer, and I am certainly willing to provide my email address via PM. I will pass your website link provided in the initial post to our pack and to several other derby enthusiasts that I know in our area. If you think that qualifies as an entry, then send me a PM and I will provide my email address.
rpcarpe
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Re: Physics and the Pinewood Derby DVD Giveaway (2013)

Post by rpcarpe »

Cool! Some kids and parents just don't believe it until they see it!
My wife started a new support group... Widows of the Pinewood Derby.
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Scoremaker
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Re: Physics and the Pinewood Derby DVD Giveaway (2013)

Post by Scoremaker »

hi
DerbyDash
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Re: Physics and the Pinewood Derby DVD Giveaway (2013)

Post by DerbyDash »

Just wanted to say that the video was our first introduction to many of the physics of the pinewood derby and has helped gain a great understanding of what is important in building our cars. We still review it every year to remind us of the importance of a number of items...although we don't do the complete wheel adjustment as shown. In any event, the information on the video along with input from the many member here on Derby Talk have proved invaluable and allowed us to win our pack championship for the past two years.
thecapotc
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Re: Physics and the Pinewood Derby DVD Giveaway (2013)

Post by thecapotc »

Is this giveaway still open? If so I'll hi-jack my wife's FB and like your page, as I too do not have nor plan on having a FB account.

C2
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