The Olympic Torch Relay is a tradition that began in the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin. Before the start of the Games, the Olympic Flame is lit in Olympia, Greece, where the ancient Olympic Games were held over 2000 years ago. The Olympic Flame is used to light a torch, which is then used to light another torch, followed by another.

This relay continues for several weeks, over thousands of miles on airplanes, boats, skis, or other modes of transportation, protected by thousands of torch relay runners until the flame reaches the site of that year’s games. At the opening ceremonies, the final torch in the relay lights the Olympic Cauldron, officially kicking off the Olympics.

This year, the 2021 Olympics are in Tokyo, Japan, and due to the COVID-19 delay, this is the longest torch relay in history. The first torch was lit in Olympia on March 12, 2020, and the cauldron will be lit on July 23, 2021 — 498 days in total. By the time it reaches Tokyo, the flame will have traveled 12,000 miles, carried by 10,000 dedicated relay runners.

Click here to keep track of the torch’s journey to Tokyo, Japan.

Inspired by the epic journeys the Olympic Flame has taken in the last 85 years, let’s work together to create our own Olympic Torch Relay using the online coding tool, Scratch. What will your leg of the race be like?

• Who will carry your torch? Will you honor someone important to you or create a totally new character?
• What setting will your leg of the relay take place in? Choose a place that means something to you. Will there be spectators? Iconic scenery and landmarks?
• How will your leg of the race stand out?

It’s time to code your piece of the KID Museum Olympic Torch Relay! Our relay will take place in Scratch, an online programming language where you can use drag-and-drop coding blocks to create unique animations.

We’ve created the first leg of the relay here. You can create your animation from scratch or remix our example to add your own designs.

To help you get started in Scratch, check out our Scratch Basics explainer.

When your leg is finished, download your Scratch project to your computer (find instructions in the Scratch Basics explainer), then send it as an attachment to socialmedia@kid-museum.org. We’ll combine all submissions together into one Olympic Torch Relay project!

Be sure to share your completed changemaker pledge project with us! Send pictures or files to socialmedia@kid-museum.org.