“It’s cool learning tool and really cool how you can make digital rain on the sand,” said Jazleen Martinez, seventh-grader.   

Science teacher Mr. Kevin Black has made his own digital water table, an augmented reality sandbox.  Out of sand, a sandbox, a projector, a computer, and an Xbox Kinect, the water table can project digital water onto the sand.  

Black uses the water table to help students see water flow on land.  Black has his water table in his class room between his smart board and his white board and said that the augmented reality water table is a learning tool for his students to see the topography of mountains.  It is a useful tool to help students understand elevation and its effects on how water flows.

Seventh-grader Lillian Le said, “I can play with this for a couple of hours.  It’s fun to play with.”

Originally, the technology for a digital representation of a water table started in Sweden; then, UC Davis created one of their own, and put the computer program online for free, so others could replicate it.  Black is currently the only one who has this technology at MacArthur, and possibly in all of Santa Ana.  Black installed the water table in mid-October and currently has placed it between his smart board and his white board.  

To make digital rain, students put their hand above the sand while the projector is on.  The computer, projector and Kinect then begin “raining”, although no real water falls, only a digital projection.  The Xbox Kinect “turns” sand into different colors like orange and blue, replicating rain, water flow, and erosion.  

Black said, “The sand is fantastic and the colors are fantastic.  I love to do a challenge and this was a fun challenge to do.”  Black and his son worked together to make the augmented reality water table.

Overall, the digital water table is just a useful tool for students to see the topography of mountains.  It also can show students the different elevation to low and high and to see how water flows.