Hackathon: Exploring augmented reality in a mobile application for soil education

Traditional educational methods often fail to captivate children or effectively demonstrate the dynamic and invisible processes happening beneath the Earth’s surface. The hackathon "Digging deep: Innovating soil education through augmented and mixed reality (AR-MR) in a mobile app" invites educators, soil specialists, developers, designers, and technologists to revolutionise the way people learn about soils. The hackathon is organised by ISRIC - World Soil Information, a partner in the CURIOSOIL project. The project, co-funded by the European Union and led by the University of Aveiro (Portugal), aims to deepen public comprehension of soil dynamics, establishing a connection between individuals and soil using hands-on experiences.

Leveraging AR-MR technologies, the hackathon aims to deliver immersive, interactive, and engaging experiences that bring soil science to life for young learners, especially children. The hackathon focuses on non-coding techniques, use cases, and possibilities for a mobile application currently under development to explore the ISRIC World Soil Museum and to enhance soil literacy by exploring soil information and data. The mobile application will contain accessible, playful, and inspiring soil information and use various media. The app’s target audience is:

• Pupils of primary and secondary schools
• Higher education students
• General public

Are you interested in stimulating soil literacy in education by leveraging AR and MR technologies for data exploration in a mobile app? Join us to enhance soil literacy and create visualisation tools using the power of AR and MR to provide a learning experience driven by curiosity and fun. Your innovative contribution will support teaching soils to the target groups.

Event details and registration

• Date: 10 and 11 April 2025
• Location: Online
• Registration: online via this registration form
• We encourage you to register as soon as possible to secure your spot.
• Registration open to: teams and individuals (we will propose a team for individuals). Note: The organiser will not cover travel and accommodation costs.
• Winner announcement: 11 April 2025.

Key focus area

Participants are encouraged to develop an approach or method (conceptual, non-coding) that uses AR-MR technology to create experiences where children can explore layers of soil, observe underground ecosystems, and interact with soil processes in interaction with the ISRIC World Soil Museum exhibitions.

Who can participate?

The hackathon is open to:

• AR-MR developers and designers passionate about education or the environment.
• Educators seeking innovative tools for soil science education.
• Students and professionals in environmental science, computer science, or related fields.
• Game developers and storytellers motivated to craft immersive experiences.

Note: Ideally, we would like to have a mix of all four participant types forming a group.

Judging criteria

Submissions will be judged on the following criteria:

• Innovation - How creative and unique is the AR-MR solution?
• Immersion - Does it fully utilise AR-MR to captivate the interest of children and engage them?
• Educational impact - How effectively does it educate the target audience about soils?
• Feasibility - Can it be realistically implemented in the soil app?

Prizes

Prizes include:

• First place: AR-MR goggles for each team member
• Special awards for “Most immersive experience”: Gift card for cinema for each team member.

Workshops and mentorship

Participants will have access to:

• Pre-hackathon workshops: Covering AR-MR development tools, soil science essentials, and best practices for educational design.
• Expert mentors: AR-MR developers, soil scientists, and educators available throughout the hackathon to provide guidance and feedback.

Help us spread the word!

Join this transformative event and share this announcement with your networks; let’s create immersive tools that enhance soil science education. Together, we can bring the wonders of the underground world to life!