mySci Science STEM

mySci's Arch Hour of Code Challenge

In 1933, St. Louis attorney Luther Elly Smith conceived of a monument honoring Thomas Jefferson and his vision for westward expansion. In 1947, a national design competition for a monument was launched. Architect Eero Saarinen’s stainless steel Arch was chosen the winner, and construction of the monument was completed in 1965. The  stainless steel Gateway Arch has become recognized around the world.

The Institute for School Partnership has created an Hour of Code activity about this architectural marvel. For our Hour of Code activity, students will use Scratch to see why math and science led Saarinen to use the catenary arch and stainless to build our Gateway Arch. Using Scratch, students will program how the color of the Arch would change if it was made out of copper and how the St. Louis skyline would change if the Arch wasn’t an Arch.

Click HERE to get started!


Our 2017 Hour of Code challenge involved students using Scratch to simulate a storm. Check out our stormy science challenge!