Competition: Monday, October 20 - Friday, November 14, 2025
Award Ceremony: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
If you have entered the competition, register to attend the catered Award Ceremony here.
The Fall 2025 AR Sandbox Topography Competition is starting soon. Follow the guidelines and steps below for a chance to win the prize money!
Topography Competition Rules
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| 1. Participants must be currently enrolled undergraduate or graduate students at the University of Maryland, College Park. |
| 2. Each submission should be completed and submitted by one individual student. |
| 3. Each participant is allowed only one submission per competition period. For example, for the Oct. 20 - Nov. 4, 2025 competition, each participant should only submit once. |
| 4. Each participant will have a maximum of 60 minutes to complete their submission. |
| 5. The award ceremony will be held in McKeldin Library on Wednesday, November 19th, 2025, from 12 to 2 pm. Winners will be announced at the ceremony and will also be posted to the @umdlibstem Instagram. |
| 6. Before collecting any prize money, the winner will need to provide contact information and a signature for Library documentation. |
| 7. If you have any questions, please contact lib-makerspace@umd.edu for Makerspace concerns or lib-gisdata@umd.edu for help with the AR Sandbox. |
How to Enter the Competition
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| 1. Register for a day to use the AR Sandbox on the JSG Makerspace's booking calendar. You will receive an email to confirm your requested time. We may not approve your request if there are conflicting appointments. Walk-ins are also accepted if there are no other conflicts. |
| 2. Arrive at the JSG Makerspace on the first floor of the STEM Library on your reserved day during open hours. Makerspace staff will help you set up the AR Sandbox to complete your submission. |
| 3. Recreate the 2D topographical map using the AR Sandbox within the 60 minute time limit. A physical copy of the map will be provided to you for reference. |
| 4. Take a picture of both the sandbox itself and the computer screen projecting your submission. |
| 5. Name your image files in the following format:
FirstNameLastName_sandboxsubmission |
| 6. Complete the submission form, making sure to include both photos and your UMD email/terpmail. |
| 7. Wait to hear if you are a winner on Wednesday, November 19, 2025. |
Judging Criteria
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| Completeness of general outline of the map (1-10)---- the work tries to replicate the whole context from the map that was given for the competition |
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Features Placement (1-10)---- the spatial alignment of the features/objects are in their relative locations |
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Elevation Accuracy (1-10)---- the user was able to model the landforms (hills, valleys, water, island, etc.) that correspond to scale on the original map |
| Model Neatness (1-10)--- how clean the work is, making good use of sand, water and lava simulation, etc. |
Example of judges’ scorecard.
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