John – 13

The St. Louis Arch is the tallest memorial in the United States. It goes up to 630 feet high up. When you first see the arch you may think that it doesn’t look big enough to hold an elevator car, but it does.  When you get up close to the arch you can tell that it  is bigger than you thought it would be.

When you get on the ride I would recommend seeing one of the movies first so that you can either learn more about the arch or about Lewis and Clark.  Both of the movies are in Imax. When we went  to the arch we saw the Lewis and Clark film. It was about the journey Lewis and Clark took to explore the west and get to the Pacific Ocean.  I thought it was one of the best movies made about Lewis and Clark that I have seen yet.  It was very informative, and I learned a lot from that video.

After the movie we went to the little gift shop they had and Dad got our tickets for our ride to the top of the arch. In the little gift shop they had book about Lewis and Clark plus they had collectables for the arch.  On the other side of the underground museum/area there is another shop.  The second shop is full of old candies and other old fashioned stuff.

The next thing we did is wait in line for the ride to the top of the arch. There was stuff to do in line that told about how the arch was made and why it was built.  When we finally did get on the ride, you sit in a pod.  It can fit five people and is a really tight fitting elevator.  There are eight of these pods on one side of the arch and eight in the other area. It took the elevator four minutes to get to the top and three minutes back down.  At the top you have a nice view of the whole city.  We went at night, and I thought it looked better at night than in the day time. On the way down, it took us around three minutes this time to get to the bottom.  I thought that it was a really cool although I am afraid of heights and it was stressful to go up and do it.  So if you are in the area you should definitely try it out.

Hadley-11

Have you ever been in a building that is 630 feet high?  If not the St. Louis Arch is where you need to go.  The arch is downtown right near the Mississippi River.  To get tickets you can call or get them there.  Before you go on the elevator to the arch you will want to see one of the movies.  The two movie they have that you can buy to see are called Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West, and Monument to the Dream: The Making of the Gateway Arch.  We went to see Lewis and Clack and it was good, but we did not see the other.  It it looked good though.

To get to the top of the arch you have to take an elevator.  The elevator is not normal though. The elevator holds 5 people and there are 8 cars at a time that go up together at the same time. On the elevator you set down in  a chair.  The capsule you are in is small, but you do not go very fast.   In  the elevator you do not go side ways or upside down like a roller coaster.  You always stay sitting flat – like a ferris wheel.  Once you get to the top you can stay as long as you want and the view is nice.  To get back down you go in a capsule like you got up. Once you get back down you can go and look in the museum.  Going up in the arch is definitely worth the money. :)

Barnett – 8

I liked the St. Louis arch.  It looks very big from the outside.  It looks like a big U upside down, and it is very shiny.  From far away it looked small, as we were driving up to it.  BUt, up close it is big.

The first thing we did was go to the movie.  The movie was called Lewis and Clark.  Lewis liked to walk along the river with his dog and be alone.  He once slipped and fell as he was trying to pick a plant.  He founds plants and feathers and collected them in a book.  The book kept track of all of the new animals.  Clark ran the boats and was the leader on the boats.  His slave, York, went with him on the trip.  They met Sacagawea, she helped them find food and things to  live.

Then we went up the arch.  We had to get in little pods.  It took almost 4 minutes to get to the top.  The pod was small and hot.  At the top they had very tiny windows.  You could see out of them.  I could see the St. Louis Cardinals playing a baseball game and the Mississippi River.  Coming down took 3 minutes.  When you are done you need to get out quickly so other people can get in and go.

It was fun, so you should do it too.