Editing Sand art and play (section)

== Sand castles and sculptures ==
Sand grains will always stick together unless the sand is reasonably fine. While dry sand is loose, wet sand is [[Adhesion|adherent]] if the proper amounts of sand and water are mixed. 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]].<ref name="SOS-1">{{cite web|url=http://www.firstscience.com/home/articles/earth/the-science-of-sandcastles_1262.html|title=The Science of Sandcastles|last=Barry|first=Patrick|date=6 January 2001 |publisher=FirstScience.com|access-date=2 August 2009|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503191356/http://www.firstscience.com/home/articles/earth/the-science-of-sandcastles_1262.html|archive-date=3 May 2009}}</ref>

When the sand dries out or gets wet, the shape of a structure may change, and "[[landslide]]s" are common. A mix of fine (mostly sharper) and coarse sand granules is very important to achieve good "sand construction" results. Fine granules that have been rounded by the natural influences of [[sea]]s, [[river]]s or [[fluvial]]s, in turn negatively influence the bonding between the individual granules as they more easily slide past each other.[[File:Sand art of Ratha Yatra by Sudarsan Pattnaik.jpg|thumb|Sand art of [[Ratha Yatra]] by [[Sudarsan Pattnaik]]|left]]Shovels and buckets are the main construction tools used in creating sand castles and sand sculptures, although some people use only their hands. A simple sand castle can be made by filling a bucket with damp sand, placing it upside-down on the beach, and removing the bucket. For larger constructions, water from the sea to mix with the sand can be brought to the building site with a bucket or other container. Sometimes [[formwork|forms]] of other materials, such as wood or plastic are constructed to hold piles of sand in place and in specific shapes.<ref>[https://www.justsandandwater.com/#/799904201174/ How to make a sand sculpture]</ref>

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. Sometimes, a [[dam]] can be built to hold back the water, tidal forts, which are incredibly large sandcastles with thick walls to protect the keep from the sea, can be built, or canals can be dug to contain the water.

A variant to a formed sculpture is the '''drip castle''', made by dribbling very wet sand.<ref>[https://www.wired.com/2011/10/fun-at-the-beach-drip-castles/ Fun at the Beach: Drip Castles]</ref>

Sand sculpting as an art form has become popular in coastal beach areas. Hundreds of annual competitions are held all over the world. Techniques can be quite sophisticated, and record-breaking achievements have been noted in the ''[[Guinness World Records]]''. Sometimes, contests are staged as advertising or promotional events. Most sand sculptors come from other disciplines but a few earn their living solely from sand-related activities.

Notable sand sculpture artists include [[Sudarsan Pattnaik]] and [[M N Gowri]] who created the [[Mysore Sand Sculpture Museum]].

===Festivals and competitions===
{{Main|Sand festival}}
[[File:Sand Sculpture Festival 2011 Taiwan.jpg|thumb|Sand Sculpture Festival 2011 Taiwan|left]]
From 1989 until 2009, a World Championship in Sand Sculpture was held in [[Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia|Harrison Hot Springs]] in [[Harrison, British Columbia]], Canada, also known as "Harrisand". The competition had solo, double and team categories. The world championship was held in [[Fort Myers, Florida]], and other venues for a limited time. 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. The structure was 49.55 feet (15.1&nbsp;m) high. It took 10 days to construct and used 300 truckloads of sand.<ref>{{cite web|last=Volk |first=Willy |url=http://www.gadling.com/2007/06/11/the-worlds-tallest-sandcastle-and-other-sandsculpture-marvels/ |title=Retrieved on 19 June 2007 |publisher=Gadling.com |date=2007-06-11 |access-date=2014-03-01}}</ref> This record was broken in 2019 when a 58-feet tall sand castle was unveiled at Rügen in Germany. The tallest-ever sand castle was built by a group of international artists and was constructed with 11,000 tons of sand.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}[[File:Sandcastle1.jpg|thumb|upright 0.75|A simple sandcastle formed from a shaped bucket]]

Since 2003, [[Bettystown]] beach in [[County Meath]], Ireland has been home to the Irish annual National Sandcastle and Sand Sculpturing competition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nationalsandcastles.ie/|title=National Sandcastle and Sand Sculpturing|access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>

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.<ref>[Sandcastle – Visit Lappeenranta]</ref>

The record for the number of individual sandcastles built in one hour, was set at [[Scarborough, North Yorkshire|Scarborough]], England, on 18 August 2012. Four hundred people constructed 683 castles, with each being two feet wide and high, accompanied by four turrets.

=== Sand pagodas ===
{{Main|Sand pagoda}}
In [[southeast Asia]] [[sand pagodas]] are created in order to build Buddhist merit<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nisbet |first=John |url=https://archive.org/details/burmaunderbritis02nisb |title=Burma Under British Rule--and Before |date=1901 |publisher=A. Constable & Company, Limited |language=en}}</ref> The tradition has been going on since the 1500s.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2020-03-07 |title=Tabaung, the month of Sand Pagoda Festival |url=https://www.globalnewlightofmyanmar.com/tabaung-the-month-of-sand-pagoda-festival/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515004037/https://www.globalnewlightofmyanmar.com/tabaung-the-month-of-sand-pagoda-festival/ |archive-date=May 15, 2020 |access-date=2020-05-23 |website=Global New Light Of Myanmar |language=en-US}}</ref>