Log into Scratch and create an animation that commemorates the day in history that Mt. Vesuvius erupted and educated members of the community about an important aspect of emergency preparedness. The challenge is to create an animation that celebrates the value of life, and not one that focuses on death, destruction and mayhem. (However fascinating the end of life in Pompeii and Herculaneum is, please remain respectful of the human remains of what were people who loved and were loved). Submit the URL link to your creation to [email protected] and we will add it to the Grow a Gen studio for all to admire!  Animations should be uniquely made for this competition, and not a remix of already existing Scratch Animations about Vesuvius or Emergency Preparedness.

What is Vesuvius Day? 

Pliny the Younger was 17 years old when he fled the 10 mile high mushroom cloud of ash that spewed from Mt. Vesuvius nearly 2000 years ago. It buried neighboring towns under 15-60 feet of ash, lava, and mud. Pliny survived.  Can you create an animation that helps others survive a natural disaster?

What is Emergency Preparedness? 

Visit the Center for Disease Control site on Natural Disasters. You will find checklists, supplies, and hazard identification to prepare yourself and your family for earthquakes, extreme heat, floods, hurricanes, landslides, lightning, tsunamis, volcanoes, wildfire, and winter weather. Additional resources on hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and fires can be found at the Red Cross site.

Need to Learn Scratch?

Not sure how to program in Scratch?  Why not sign up for the Scratch Animator Black Belt Series and learn enough to enter the Challenge!  Looking to expand your knowledge of Animation and Game Design? A Black Belt in Scratch Animation provides you with Kick “But” Coding skills that will awe and amaze your friends and family.   No purchase is necessary to enter the challenge.

RUBRICS for the Challenge

You can follow the LINK to find the Rubrics for the Challenge.  When you send your entry include the following.

Your scratch name
Your age range (8-11) (12-14) (15-18) (ADLT)
Your City and Country
Your Scratch Experience (Novice) (Student) (Practiced) (Master)
send to [email protected]
subject line Vesuvius Day

What is Scratch Programming? 

Scratch is a programming language and an online community where children can program and share interactive media such as stories, games, and animation with people from all over the world. As children create with Scratch, they learn to think creatively, work collaboratively, and reason systematically. Scratch is designed and maintained by the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab.

While Scratch is primarily designed for 8 to 16 year olds, it is also used by people of all ages, including younger children with their parents.

WHAT IS A GROWAGEN LAB?

Become a GrowaGen Lab (in your home, classroom, or after school program) by signing up for one of the GrowaGen online courses in Kick “But” Coding, Create a Website, Author a Book, and more to come. Your children can work alone or in small groups to learn 21st century skills by creating meaningful projects to include in their personal portfolios. Find out more here…

COURSE LIST