Now summer seems to finally be here, we thought we’d get the sand table out and start playing. We tried to make sandcastles with the dry sand, which didn’t work at all. They just collapsed.
Can you think why this is? What could you add to make the sand more ‘sticky’? 
We added a little bit of water, which made the sandcastles a little better, but still not great.
MY LATEST VIDEOSWe kept adding water until we could make an almost perfect sandcastle. It took several attempts to get the right combination of sand and water.
The Science bit
You should have noticed that wet sand is much stickier than dry sand. This is because the water forms tiny bridges between the grains of sand which holds them together. This is due to the surface tension of the water. If too much water is added, water fills the space between the grains of sand and the bridges break down.
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Jodi
June 3, 2012 at 5:02 amLove how you incorporated learning into playing. That’s the best.
ScienceSparks
June 3, 2012 at 9:13 pmThank you. x
maryanne @ mama smiles
June 4, 2012 at 6:40 pmI love this – never thought about why you needed wet sand to get it to stick before!
Jane, Enchanted Wood Toys
June 6, 2012 at 8:15 pmChildren are never too young to learn things like this, especially when it is wrapped up in so much fun. However much or little they take on board at the time, doing something like this helps lay the foundation for a love of learning. More please!
Beth
June 8, 2012 at 10:52 amI love how you incorporate Science into so many things I would never think of! You always have such fun ideas for makeing Science Fun =-) Thanks for linking up to TGIF! Have a great weekend,
Beth =-)
Carrie
June 8, 2012 at 6:29 pmOh, how interesting. I love reading your science bits so I learn something. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!!