Katherine Chandler '26 and Lily Horowitz '26 Set Up Augmented Reality Sandbox

This semester, Lily Horowitz '26 and Katherine Chandler '26 have been overhauling, recalibrating, and upgrading the Augmented Reality Sandbox in the School’s Environmental Systems Lab as part of an independent study with science teachers Brad Turner and Dennis Evangelista.   

This hands-on resource features real sand, a Microsoft Kinect 3D camera, a data projector, and open source simulation and visualization software. As users mold the sand with their hands, it is augmented in real time by a responsive elevation color map, topographic contour lines, and simulated water, allowing for the exploration of topographic maps and models.

Simply by pushing the sand into peaks, students can create mountains, or with a stroke of a finger, they can create riverbeds and watch water flow in. “There is also a feature that we’re still working on where you put your hand out and it’ll make it rain,” said Katherine. 

The goal of the AR Sandbox is to teach geographic, geologic, hydrologic, and vulcanic concepts—from assessing the meaning of a watershed to reading maps.

The original system at MBS was constructed by Bobby Burns ’22 as part of his independent study titled Augmented Virtual Reality Sandbox, but it never got off the ground fully due to the pandemic. Katherine and Lily, who took Mr. Turner’s Oceanography course and both have an interest in coding, stepped up to get the AR Sandbox operational for the first time.

“Luckily, it was pre-built, so we could spend time on the actual coding and getting it set up,” said Katherine.  Now that the AR Sandbox is functional, the second half of Katherine and Lily’s independent study will be to propose ways to integrate it into lesson plans.

“Once you start playing with the AR Sandbox, you can see what some of the applied uses can be for it down the road — architecture and design, environmental science, and geography just to name a few. You could overlay real locations like wetlands or the Whippany River next door and explore environmental issues,” said MBS Chief Innovation Officer Darren Burns. “The ‘what if?’ or ‘what’s next?’ are the interesting thing. It’s a tool that’s very engaging and brings you right in. I mean, does it get any more hands-on than this?”

In the near future, Katherine and Lily will create signage with information about the AR Sandbox so other students can stop by and use it. 

Lilly said that the project has been academically challenging, but also a lot of fun. “I mean, we literally get to play in the sand. What’s better than that?”