Sand art and play

Sand castles are typically made by children for fun, but there are also sand-sculpture contests for adults that involve large, complex constructions.

The reason for this is that water forms little "bridges" between the grains of sand when it is damp due to the forces of surface tension.

Fine granules that have been rounded by the natural influences of seas, rivers or fluvials, in turn negatively influence the bonding between the individual granules as they more easily slide past each other.Shovels and buckets are the main construction tools used in creating sand castles and sand sculptures, although some people use only their hands.

Sometimes forms of other materials, such as wood or plastic are constructed to hold piles of sand in place and in specific shapes.

[2] Tunnels large enough to enter are extremely hazardous; children and adults die every year when such underground chambers collapsed under weight and instability of sand, or due to the tide coming up or the structure being hit by a wave.

Other countries hold their own versions of the world championships as it is not possible to get all the people who may qualify in the same place at the same time due to the expense and logistics.

The world's tallest sand castle was built on Myrtle Beach, South Carolina by Team Sandtastic as part of the 2007 Sun Fun Festival.

[citation needed]Since 2003, Bettystown beach in County Meath, Ireland has been home to the Irish annual National Sandcastle and Sand Sculpturing competition.

[5] In Lappeenranta, Finland, there is an annual tourist sight called the Sandcastle (Hiekkalinna), where a work of art made of sand according to a changing theme is created every year.

One can make a mountain, a pit (encountering clay or the water table), canals, tunnels, bridges, a sculpture (representing a person, animal, etc., like a statue, or a scale model of a building), amongst many other things.

[9] Some notable artists working in this medium include Andres Amador, Sean Corcoran and Marc Treanor.