Google SketchUp
Geography / History Project:
Grades 10 - 12

 

This project works in SketchUp 8.

 

This project uses Google Earth, another free product by Google. SketchUp and Earth work in tandem with each other: you can bring a “slice” of Google Earth into SketchUp and build something on it, then bring that model into Earth.

You can download Google Earth here: http://earth.google.com. The free version is all you need.

 

 

If you need some basic information on downloading Google SketchUp, or about its user interface and basic tools, please see our printable “Intro to SketchUp” PDF.

The PC version is at www.3dvinci.net/SketchUp_Intro_PC.pdf.
The Mac version is at www.3dvinci.net/SketchUp_Intro_MAC.pdf.

 

In this project, we want to build something on top of a hill. San Francisco, California is a pretty hilly town, and it happens that there is some space for a new building next to the famous Coit Tower. (The empty space is actually a parking lot, but we’ll ignore that.)

1. Start a blank SketchUp file, and click Add Location.

2. In the Add Location window, enter “Coit Tower.” (You can use this field to search for cities, landmarks, ZIP codes, famous places, exact addresses, etc.) The window zooms into a close-up, bird’s-eye view of the tower.

3. Zoom out until you can see the parking circle indicated below.

4. Click the Select Region button at the top of the Add Location window. Then drag the blue pushpins until you have a region that includes both the tower itself and the parking circle.

5. Click the Grab button, and the region is placed on the ground in the SketchUp model. Our new building will be placed here, in the center of the traffic circle next to the tower (maybe it’s not where you'd ideally want to place a building, but maybe someday they’ll move the parking lot). .

6. To make a simple building, use Circle and Push/Pull to make a simple cylinder. Place it in the center of the traffic circle, and paint it something bright that will stand out in Google Earth.

7. The terrain looks like a large, flat face, but we know that this spot is on a hill. Click Toggle Terrain, and now you can see the hill. If your cylinder’s location needs to be adjusted, you can do that now.

8. Even though this isn’t the final building, we can still check how it will look in Earth. Click Preview Model in Google Earth.

9. Google Earth opens and flies to the Coit Tower, where the cylinder from SketchUp is right next-door. If you don’t see any other buildings, check the 3D Buildings layer.

10. To change this building, go back to SketchUp. Now you can do whatever you want with this model, or erase it altogether and create something new. I made an amphitheater (or is it a pavilion?) - the columns were copied using the Rotate tool, and the roof was made using the Follow Me tool.

11. Click Preview Model in Google Earth again, and you'll have to confirm that you want to replace the previous model (the cylinder). Here’s a new view of my model, overlooking San Francisco Bay.

12. This model is in your Google Earth as a temporary place - it is not on the “main” Google Earth that everyone sees. If you want to save this place in Earth, use File / Save / Save Place As. The file extension is .kmz. You can save your SketchUp file as well, which will keep its location information. If you open a saved SketchUp file with location information, you can always use Preview Mode to see where it ends up in Earth.

14. If you want to upload the model to the 3D Warehouse, click Share Model. You’ll need a Google account, which is free and easy to create.

If you have students producing models as part of a class project, you can set up a new Google account for the class as a whole, and create a collection in the Warehouse for the students to use.

When you’re creating a model for a specific location, you don’t have to start by bringing the Earth view into SketchUp. You can build the SketchUp model in “empty space” first, and then bring the Earth view in. You will then have to move, rotate, or size your model to fit the view, and after that you can send the model back to Earth.

 

 

Here are some other ideas for projects:

 

• A bridge over Niagara Falls:

• A rocket next to the Kennedy Space Center.

• Model your school, house or other building in your town, using exact measurements and colors. (If you know how to apply digital pictures to “paint” a model, that’s even better.) If you want your model to appear in Google Earth, make sure to provide an accurate title, an interesting description, and an address. Also check Google Earth Ready, which will place your model in the queue for the 3D Buildings layer. (Google has a team of designers who accept or reject potential earth models.)

 

 

 

If you like this project, please check out 3DVinci's book Where in the World?  This book teaches all you need to know about integrating models into Google Earth, including how to change and relocate models. It also covers how to find just what you need in the 3D Warehouse.  

          

And if you want to receive three ready-to-use projects like these each month, sign up for our
SketchUp Projects of the Month subscription!
 

All of the models in the Teacher Guide can be downloaded from Google’s 3D Warehouse: http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse.

 

 

 

If you’re reading this as a printout and can’t click on the links above, here’s how to find the Teacher Guide models:

 

1. Open the 3D Warehouse.

2. In the Search field, type “3dvinci teacher guide” and click Collections. Then press Enter or click the Search button.

3. Open this link:


 

 

4. In the collection, find the model you want, and open or download it.