The Mathews Visitor and Information Center held an opening last Thursday for two new interactive exhibits installed in the center’s Chesapeake Room. An augmented reality sandbox combines real sand with digital projections to map surfaces and show topographic enhancements such as contour lines and elevations in various colors. It can be used to teach lessons in topography, geomorphology, hydrology, geology, erosion, deposition, conservation, and other earth sciences, said MCVIC board member Dia Lawless. A 3D camera, a projector and a software program developed by the University of California Davis work together to create images on the sand, providing a lesson in landscapes that’s usually only found in large museums in metropolitan areas, she said. The sandbox was built by Mathews Rotarian David Winch and funded by a Mathews Community Foundation grant. Several youth gathered around it as soon as the unveiling was over and tried a hand at creating different topographical features. They ob...