This page contains the material submitted to the local paper - The Davis Enterprise - for Explorit Science Center's news column published in that paper on Fridays.

Article for: The Davis Enterprise
Date: July 9, 2004
Author: Pamela Emery

Practice Your Sand-Castle Building At Explorit

Gather your umbrella, sunscreen, and swim trunks and head over to Explorit on Saturday for a day at the beach. Tomorrow, between 1 and 4 p.m., visitors will have the opportunity to explore the properties of water and sand while creating sand structures outdoors.

What kind of sand-water combination is best for sculpting? What's best for making sand bridges and moats? Many unique and inexpensive tools will be available for sand explorers young and old. According to Tara Barbier, Explorit's Family Explorations coordinator, this time is being set aside for people to "explore the properties of water and sand while they construct moats and bridges, canals and more." Visitors can work alone or join a team.

All of this will take place in the back of Explorit, in a sand-filled swimming pool.

The characteristics of sand have fascinated people for centuries. In fact, many ancient civilizations understood the properties of sand and other particulate matter well enough to create buildings, sculptures, and pottery.

In New Mexico, the Chaco culture, dating back to 750 A.D., understood that the color of the sandstone they used to build tall and long houses was important. The richer red sedimentary rock was stronger and used for the development of support walls. Mortar, on the other hand, was made of the lighter colored sandstone, where finer grains of sand were beneficial.

Take a look at the adobe buildings that still stand around Explorit. How do you think these structures were made? What have current builders learned from them? 

Sand has been a favorite topic of Explorit's for years. Collections of sand gathered from around the world are cataloged and stored inside the exhibit hall. The visual display of sand varieties makes one wonder about the origin of the sand. Are the particles from volcanic, igneous, rock? Or are did they originate from layered, sedimentary rock formed from particles that were compressed by water? 

After a hot afternoon in the sun, come indoors and browse the collection and think about possible connections between sand origins and Earth's volcanic and earthquake activities. The map above the collection can get you started.

Saturday's special "Castles in the Sand" Family Exploration program is free with paid admission to the exhibition. Of course, members, children under four, and teachers with identification are always free.
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Explorit is currently planning the 13th annual Corporate Science Challenge, their biggest fund-raiser of the year. This year's event will be Thursday, September 30.

If you are interested in helping make this great event an even bigger success, consider helping by donating an auction item. If you have a vacation home, tickets to the Kings, RiverCats, Mondavi, or anything you might be willing to contribute, please consider making it a donation to this event.  It's a wonderful way to help out Explorit and get a tax deduction at the same time.

If you think you might be interested, or have any questions, please contact Jennifer Perkins at (530)756-5820 or johnnjen@sbcglobal.net.
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Explorit Science Center is at 3141 5th St. in East Davis. The current exhibition "From A to Z: Spanning the Science Spectrum" runs through September 5. Public hours are Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 2 to 4:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.explorit.org or call Explorit at (530) 756-0191.