Sandbox Reloaded: Hands-on Geography Experiments Using Augmented Reality

Innovative project idea

Sandbox Reloaded (SR) uses our augmented reality (AR) sandbox to support innovative teaching in geography. It creates a mobile, and collaborative learning environment where students shape the sand landscape with their hands while real-time models visualize topography, hydrology, and other Earth surface processes. The project updates existing hardware and expands the software with additional simulations (e.g., atmosphere, fire, geology) and new custom modules, such as glacier dynamics, broadening its use across geography and related disciplines.

Added value for students and teaching

SR offers an interactive, hands-on learning experience that boosts student engagement and understanding across geography (e.g. remote sensing, glaciology, hydrology, climate science). It encourages creative thinking and problem-solving by letting students visualize and manipulate landscapes and Earth system processes that are otherwise difficult to observe directly, complementing traditional teaching methods. A key benefit in the age of AI is that students are required to engage actively with the tasks themselves and with discussions, rather than relying on AI to complete the task for them.