Google and the Guggenheim Museum have teamed up to create the Design a Shelter competition. Participants in the contest have to design a geographically appropriate shelter using Google SkethUp. After designing their shelters contestants must place their shelter models in Google Earth. The competition is an extension of the Guggenheim’s Learning by Doing exhibition. All entries must be submitted by August 23. Anyone over the ge of 13 can enter. You can all of the contest requirements here or here.

The video below offers some information that you need to know in order to participate in the contest.

Applications for Education
It’s too bad that this contest is being run in the summer (northern hemisphere) because it would be a great project for geography students and or art students to participate in. The concept of the contest could easily be applied to geography and or art class. By creating an environmentally, geographically appropriate shelter students can demonstrate their understanding of climates.

Here are some related resources that may be of interest to you:
KML Factbook – 2D and 3D Mapped Data Displays
Award Winning Google Earth Lesson Plans
Educational Google Earth Files