Sandpit
Encyclopedia
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
in which children can play. Many homeowners with children build sandpits in their backyards
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
because, unlike much playground equipment, they can be easily and cheaply constructed. A "sandpit" may also denote an open pit sand mine
Sand mining
Sand mining is a practice that is becoming an environmental issue as the demand for sand increases in industry and construction. Sand is mined from beaches and inland dunes and dredged from ocean beds and river beds. It is often used in manufacturing as an abrasive, for example, and it is used to...
.
Sandpits encourage the imagination
Imagination
Imagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts, in a moment when they are not perceived through sight, hearing or other senses...
s and creativity of children by providing the materials and space to build structures such as sandcastle
Sand art and play
Sand art is the practice of modelling sand into an artistic form, such as a sand brushing, sand sculpture, sandpainting, or sand bottles...
s; use toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s, shovel
Shovel
A shovel is a tool for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Shovels are extremely common tools that are used extensively in agriculture, construction, and gardening....
s, and bucket
Bucket
A bucket, also called a pail, is typically a watertight, vertical cylinder or truncated cone, with an open top and a flat bottom, usually attached to a semicircular carrying handle called the bail. A pail can have an open top or can have a lid....
s to move the sand around; dig holes and bury things, etc. In other words, the sand provides a medium in which children can pretend to explore, construct, and destroy the world in three dimensions. This idea of being creative and experimentation is what the metaphorical uses of the word 'sandpit' or 'sandbox' were born from.
Lawn
A lawn is an area of aesthetic and recreational land planted with grasses or other durable plants, which usually are maintained at a low and consistent height. Low ornamental meadows in natural landscaping styles are a contemporary option of a lawn...
s or other surrounding surfaces. Boxes of various shapes are often constructed from plank
Plank
Plank may refer to:*Plank *Plank , an isometric exercise for the abdominal muscles*The Plank , a British comedy film with no dialogue*The Plank , a remake of the 1967 film...
s, logs, or other large wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
en frames that allow children easy access to the sand and also provide a convenient place to sit. Nevertheless, small sandpits are also available for purchase. These are usually made from plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
and are often shaped like an animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
or other familiar objects.
They also sometimes have lids to cover the sand when not in use, so that passing animals cannot contaminate the sand by urinating or defecating in it. Having lids also prevents the sand in outdoor sandpits from getting wet when it rains, although some dampness is often desirable as it helps the sand hold together. Prefabricated sandpits may also be used indoors, especially in day care
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
s. Rather than sand, other materials are also often used such as oatmeal
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is ground oat groats , or a porridge made from oats . Oatmeal can also be ground oat, steel-cut oats, crushed oats, or rolled oats....
which are necessarily non-toxic and light enough to easily vacuum.
Sandpits can have a solid bottom or they can be built directly onto the soil. The latter allows free draining (which is useful if the top is open) but can lead to some contamination of the sand with soil if the children dig down to it.
The sand gets dirty over time and is eventually replaced. The old sand can be discarded or it can be used for other things (for example, mixed into concrete).
Some people may use ordinary building sand to fill sandpits, while others use special sandbox sand. Since it is not washed, building sand is far cheaper but often contains materials such as clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
that can stain clothes. It will also contain a mixture of grain sizes and colors, and hence will have less appeal to the eye. Ordinary building sand may be strained with a sieve and washed to remove clay and particles to create a cleaner play surface. Many schools and playgrounds around North America have replaced sand around play structures with a wood chip mixture, as it is cheaper and does not stain clothing.
See also
- Borrow pitBorrow pitA borrow pit, also known as a sand box, is a term used in construction and civil engineering. It describes an area where material has been dug for use at another location. Borrow pits can be found close to many major construction projects...
- Japanese rock gardenJapanese rock gardenThe or "dry landscape" gardens, often called "Zen gardens", are a type of garden that features extensive use of rocks or stones, along with plants native to rocky or alpine environments that were influenced mainly by Zen Buddhism and can be found at Zen temples of meditation.- Overview :Japanese...
- Sand art and playSand art and playSand art is the practice of modelling sand into an artistic form, such as a sand brushing, sand sculpture, sandpainting, or sand bottles...
- Outdoor playsetOutdoor playset-Components:Typical components of an outdoor playset include:* Towers. In a playset, a tower is a vertical structure with one or more decks placed at various levels...
- LibraryLibraryIn a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...