What are maps drawn on physical materials?

Maps drawn on physical materials are like pictures that show you where things are, but instead of being on a screen or paper, they're made using stuff you can touch, like wood, fabric, or clay.

Imagine you have a toy car. If you draw a map on a piece of cardboard, it's just like having a big piece of paper your toy car can drive on. But if the map is drawn on wooden blocks, then each block could be a mountain or a road, and you can push your toy car across them! That’s what maps on physical materials are like: they’re not just for looking at, you can touch, move around, and even play with them.

Sometimes people make maps out of fabric, like a blanket that shows the shape of a country. Or maybe they use clay to build up hills and valleys so you can feel what the land is like. These kinds of maps are especially fun because you don’t just see them, you feel them too, like when you touch your favorite pillow or rug.