Google Model Your Town Competition

New! The 2010 winning town is Barranco, Lima, Peru!

What makes your town an incredible place to live?
Show your civic pride (and maybe win a prize) by creating a 3D portrait of your community and sharing it with the world. You have the power to get your town on the map – and there's no bigger map than Google Earth.
See what other towns have done (Google Earth file)

The Google Model Your Town Competition is open to people from all over the world.
All you have to do is build 3D models of the buildings in your community. Model whichever structures you think are necessary to show the planet what's special about your town.

Be recognized by your community for doing something great.
Having a 3D model of your town in Google Earth helps residents and visitors understand it in a way that flat maps and photographs can't. You can be a local hero by making a contribution to your town's future.

Getting started is easy.
You can enter on your own or recruit up to five of your fellow citizens to help you form a team, and the software tools you need are free.
Get started today

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Details, details

You can model as many structures as you like – which types of buildings you choose to include is entirely up to you. The important thing is that your choices say something about the character and history of your town.

• Modeling teams may include up to six members.
• Buildings can be modeled with SketchUp, a free and relatively easy-to-use 3D modeling program from Google. You use SketchUp in combination with Google Earth to give models a precise geographic location.
• Buildings can also be modeled with Google Building Maker if your town is located in an area where Building Maker data is available. These models can also be edited and improved with Google SketchUp.
• Each completed building model should be uploaded to a dedicated town collection on the Google 3D Warehouse.
• Join our Google Competition Group to discuss ideas and issues with other modelers. It's also a great way to find people to help you form a team.
• To enter, each team must complete and submit an online entry form.
• The competition submission deadline is 11:59 PM PST on March 2, 2010 (extended).

For more information, please take a look at our list of Frequently Asked Questions and at the Getting Started page. You might also consult the official rules before you enter.

Judging

Entries will be judged on the basis of the following general criteria:

• Accuracy: Your models' scale, location and orientation must be as true-to-life as possible.
• Photo-texturing: "Paint" your models with photographs of the actual buildings. Use photo-editing software to create textures that are devoid of trees, cars, people and other visual clutter.
• Efficiency: Make sure your town loads quickly in Google Earth by keeping your models simple.
• Detail: Create a sense of place by emphasizing things that make your town unique.
• Metadata: Include plenty of text information about the buildings you upload.
• Coverage: While quality is more important than quantity, model as much as you can to provide a compelling 3D experience for online visitors.
• Elegance: Strive for a combination of beautiful textures, lightweight models and rich metadata.

Take a look at our list of Acceptance Criteria to get a good idea of what you're shooting for.

Finalists will be picked by an internal team of SketchUp experts. From among those finalists, a winner will be decided by a public vote that will take place on this website. The winning town will be announced by May 15, 2010.

Prizes

The winning individual/team will receive:

• USD$10,000 for the town's public school district (or international equivalent)
• a visit from a Google team, along with an event in the winners' honor
• a video profile of the winning team and their town, to be featured on YouTube
• a virtual tour of the winning town that will be added to the Google Earth website
• international publicity in the form of blog posts, tweets and other media
• additional coverage on Google websites

Get started today