Assistant Professor Dylan Blumentritt, of WSU’s Geoscience Department, was involved in a project to build a scaled, 3D topographic model of the Whitewater watershed in spring 2018. The project, spearheaded by Allison Bender of the Minnesota GreenCorps through the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, and in conjunction with Whitewater State Park, involved Blumentritt and WSU students mapping the watershed, through GIS software, using a digital elevation model and land use layers.
The map was then given to Lego experts from the Twin Cities who “Legotized” it and built step-by-step instructions on how to build the model. After months of planning and a community Lego drive, the model was constructed with the help of all those involved, as well as community members. The model will primarily reside at Whitewater State Park, and also travel around the region, visiting libraries, country fairs, farmers markets and other events to help people learn about watersheds.
The time-lapse video of the entire construction process, filmed by WSU student Andrew Williams ’20, is shown above.
