Submitted by The Hands On Children’s Museum
The South Sound’s largest family festival, Sand in the City®, is stimulating children’s love and appreciation of art and science through more than 40 free, educator-organized activities in this two-day event.
Families are invited to bring their children of all ages to Sand in the City on Aug. 23, and Sunday, Aug. 24, at the Hands On Children’s Museum on Olympia’s East Bay.
The heart of the festival is a Masters’ Sand Sculpting Exhibition, which will take place from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday. Visitors can view the masterpieces and vote for their favorite sculptures. The winners will be announced at 4 p.m. Sunday.
The Masters’ Exhibition is part of the free Beach Party where children can play in giant sandboxes loaded with sand toys and sculpting tools, and participate in 40 interactive art and science activities in the museum spread around the East Bay Plaza and streets adjacent to the museum.
Activities include a rock climbing wall, giant bubbles, a Tot Spot Early Learning Center and museum-led art activities. Make-and-take Polynesian crafts include eruptible
mini volcanoes, Hawaiian leis, wax paper flowers and sand bands. Inside the museum, families can learn about the music of the Pacific Islands and make musical instruments and crafts. New this year is a life-sized, pin-hole camera you can walk inside.
All-day entertainment on the stage includes martial arts, country music, African drummers, young fiddlers, Zumba and Irish dancers. Favorite local food vendors and food trucks will be on site.
Sunday, Aug. 24, is Grandparents’ Day from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Families can enjoy all of the fun activities of Saturday’s Beach Party and participate in additional activities designed for children and grandparents to do together.
During Sand in the City, all event activities and entertainment on the streets surrounding the museum and the East Bay Public Plaza are free. Donations are appreciated and support the museum’s Free Access Program at the Hands On Children’s Museum.
Festival-goers can also explore museum exhibits Aug. 22-24 with a discounted admission rate to the museum of just $5 per person. Families can play and learn in nine themed galleries and 150 hands-on exhibits, including MakeSpace in the Arts & Parts Studio, where kids can tinker, design and build using real tools and materials.
For the price of admission, festival visitors can also explore the museum’s Outdoor Discovery Center, including new exhibits opening on Sand in the City weekend such as the giant trike loop, stage and Children’s Garden in the Outdoor Discovery Center.
For more information about Sand in the City®, visit www.hocm.org/sandinthecity.
