Home » Cub Scout Events » 25+ of the Best Pinewood Derby Photo Booth Ideas

25+ of the Best Pinewood Derby Photo Booth Ideas

Written By: Sherry Smothermon-Short
Last Modified: December 11, 2024
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Find over 25 Pinewood Derby photo booth ideas in this post! From simple to elaborate, you’re sure to find the perfect photo background for your pack.

Have you ever thought about having a Pinewood Derby photo booth? It’s a fun way to commemorate the most anticipated Cub Scout event of the year.

I still remember the first Derby I attended. The excitement is infectious!

Over the years, our Pinewood Derby evolved from simply showing up and racing your car to a fun family event with activities and snacks.

We decided to add a backdrop for taking pictures. This really added to the event. Parents could get cool pictures for posting on social media or sharing with grandparents.

25 Pinewood Derby Photo Booth Ideas

In this post, I’m sharing 25 Pinewood Derby photo booth ideas. You’ll find lots of suggestions from simple to elaborate and from DIY to ready-made.

These were collected from several sources including some of my Facebook followers.

Thank you to everyone who agreed to share their pictures.

Note: Where possible, I’ve linked to the original source of this image, but I couldn’t find the sources for all of them. If one of these pictures belongs to you and you want me to link to your site or you don’t want it featured, please email me at [email protected], and I’ll take care of that. Thanks!

This is my family. That year, we all made Pinewood Derby cars–even my husband and me!

For this Pinewood Derby photo booth, we used a plastic checkerboard tablecloth for the background.

One thing we learned was that plastic wasn’t the best material because the light reflected off of it causing a glare.

One of the parents in our pack had a connection to someone who owns a race car, so she got the gas cans for us.

Side note: Those cans are called dump cans. If you’re a NASCAR fan, you probably know that already.

This year, we decided to use a black cloth backdrop to avoid the glare. It worked a lot better.

This is probably my favorite from our pack. We used tires, an old gas can, and a traffic light for this Pinewood Derby photo booth. We also used a white backdrop.

I love this simple and inexpensive backdrop! A colored sheet and checkerboard bunting is all you need.

Using old tires for your Pinewood Derby photo booth adds a realistic look. Check out how they placed the trophies in front of the tires.

I’m not sure how Pack 194 made their sign, but it’s a great way to show off your pack number while standing in front of the checkerboard door covering.

etsy photo frame for pinewood derby

You can purchase this awesome photo frame and have it personalized for your Pinewood Derby! It’s a bit pricey, but you can store it to use for several years. I love it because 3 or 4 people can be in the photo at once.

Tires, flags, traffic cones, oil cans, and traffic lights make up this snazzy backdrop.

display with jumper cables

Stephanie Ortiz shared this fun photo. Check out the jumper cables! I haven’t seen those in any other backdrops.

Cub Scouts winning pinewood derby

The Pinewood Derby winners from Wendy Hassler’s pack 781 in Cool, CA are showing off their trophies in front of this fun backdrop.

Check out this fun photo frame! It looks easy to make.

display from pinewood derby

Angie Nolte-Jarvis from pack 599 in Oklahoma City, OK shared this super fun display! You’ll see a Scout sitting on one of the stools in the next photo.

Pinewood Derby display

The Scout can put his or her car on the other stool.

Cub Scout race photo frame

Amy Reber from pack 30 in Douglasville, GA shared this huge photo frame.

It looks like they may have set it up on a table so that it’ll stand up by itself.

photo frame for pinewood derby from etsy

You can purchase this photo frame from Etsy. The seller can personalize it for you, so you can change “Happy Birthday” to “Pinewood Derby.”

balloon decor for pinewood derby

Check out this balloon display by Orange County Balloons. ! I love the “traffic light.” I’ll bet you could show this picture to any local balloon store and they could recreate it.

Fun photo frame for pinewood derby

Kathryn Hannon from pack 303 in South Hadley, MA shared this fun Pinewood Derby photo frame! I like how the Cub Scout is holding both his car and his trophy.

Cub Scout photo

Check this out! I’ll bet their pack number is 1161.

tires with pack number

Brian James shared this creative idea! Paint your pack number on an old tire.

photo frame for Cub Scout pinewood derby

You can make this photo frame from black foam board and letter stickers.

Looking for fun Pinewood Derby printable activities? Check these out!

pinewood derby drivers license photo frame

Shana Snyder from Pack 10 in Groton, NY took a photo of an actual New York driver’s license. She photoshopped it with a new name and address then had it blown up to poster size and printed. After gluing it to poster board, Shana cut out the rectangle. Very creative!

Backdrop for Pinewood Derby photos

The red, white and black balloons really add to this fun Derby photo booth.

Car photo booth
Thanks to Vicky Barone from A Little Moxie for sharing her project!

You can make your own car photo booth using these instructions from Vicky Barone at A Little Moxie.

pinewood derby photo frame

This big photo frame is awesome! I’m not sure if this is the Cub Scout’s dad or den leader, but it’s great to have an important adult in the picture.

pinewood derby photo booth

Love, love, love the balloon arch! And the Winner’s Circle sign really adds to this Pinewood Derby photo booth.

pinewood derby photo booth

Another fun photo backdrop!

This isn’t a backdrop, but these are so cute! They look like they’re baseball cards. Love that they the photo of the car and the Scout with their names on it.

Pinewood Derby photo booth idea

Check out this huge tire! How fun would it be to have your picture made while you’re standing in the middle of a tire!

parents taking pictures

I love this shot of all the parents taking pictures! 🙂 It looks like their photo frame is big enough for their entire den.

Amanda Nally from Pack 351 in Spring Hill, TN shared this with us.

So, what do you think? Did you find a Pinewood Derby photo backdrop for your pack? Share a picture with us!

Yours in Scouting,
Sherry


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261 responses

  1. Shakeel Akram

    I like the noir. As a Den Leader I would give it to my Wolf Cub Scouts to use at regular special scouting events such as Pinewood Derby & Raingutter Regatta. In addition, I would encourage them to use it at school events. They can sell pictures/stickers of the event while the proceeds from sales can go to a good cause.

  2. Rachael Swiat

    The Blush sproket is pretty and functional! I would build my recruiting board in real time during the year vs the mad scramble to make one the night before the first event. Imagine the general info categories of “camping”, “outdoor fun”, “pack meetings”, “den meetings”, “field trips”, “community service” and just as each thing happens, snap, print and put in the blank. The scouts would be able to see it happening, would be motivation tool for the younger ones to see what the older ones did at their den meetings and could also be a reward to have the group best unformed to make it or most cooperative, etc.

  3. Angela Hayes

    I would use my sprocket photo printer for all the cub scout activities like pinewood derby, when they do their caroling at the personal care home. The black one would be great for us.

  4. Amy

    I like the Luna pearl color best. This would certainly come in handy when we go volunteer somewhere; could print out a photo immediately and put it in the thank you card!

  5. Mike Forrest

    Hi. I would get the Noir color and would use it to create a Pack Albumn/Yearbook with photo stickers of each of the boys and their Dens! Thanks so much!

  6. Jennifer Bartlett

    The silver one looks nice. We’d use ours as a “get to know you” and for advancement tracking poster (put each kids’ face on their row for ease of identification.

  7. Jolene Goodberry

    I love the purple one!! I would use this to create my Blue & Gold Banquet posters for my den for sure. I’m sure I could fine a million other uses for it too.

  8. Lisa S

    I love your purple one so I guess I would get the Lilac printer. I’ve had my eye on these for a couple years. These would be great for our bike rally as well as the derby. I think “drivers licenses” for each of the kids would be adorable keepsakes.

  9. John Henderson

    I love the noir sprocket. I would use the printer to make a collage each year for the kids, highlighting the stuff we did. Take some pictures of fun den activities, or crafts, some pictures of campouts, the pinewood derby, whatever. Give the kids and parents a memory board to remember their favorite activities.