Beach Themed Sensory Play: How to Make a Fizzy Sand Castle

In this BLOG post I will teach you how to make this fun and festive fizzy sandcastle!

This activity was made for summer fun! Kids learn best through PLAY. This activity combines our love for all things STEM and FIZZY with sensory play and it is a winner every single time!

You can absolutely do this same activity in a regular kitchen bowl or bucket! If you do use the sandcastle mold, it adds an unexpected element to your play. It looks like a sandcastle, but it acts like a science experiment!

When you explore it, it provides opportunities to work on a ton of skills too! Think fine motor skills, chemical reactions, cause and effect and temperature changes.

The sensory benefits alone are HUGE! Sensory play can be calming, it can help to increase focus and attention, and it can also be a hands-on way to work on academic skills. Not to mention the language benefits and opportunities to learn and practice new vocabulary words!

A few focus words could be:

• squeeze

• vinegar

• baking soda

• sand castle

• fizzy

• reaction

• science

• frozen

Our sandcastle mold is from the Dollar Tree, but you can use whatever you have! It needs to freeze for a few hours, but it only takes minutes to prep. I like to do this at night so that it is ready for the next day, when we need a little something. It is also a great activity to have kids prep themselves! It gives them an opportunity to work on measurement, following directions and problem solving. Plus, when they feel ownership over an activity, they are more likely to want to follow through and play with it!

Materials: 

• Sandcastle mold or bowl

• Sensory tray or bowl

• 2 cups baking soda

• 1/2 cup water

• ½ cup sand

• 1:1 white vinegar and water mixture

• Pipette or medicine dropper

• Optional: food coloring, glitter

Step 1: In a bowl, mix baking soda, sand and 1/2 cup of water. 

Step 2: Fill the sandcastle mold with the mixture. Freeze for a few hours until solid.

Step 3: Once frozen, place the frozen sand into a sensory tray. Step 4: In a cup or bowl, mix together a half water and half white vinegar solution. If you are using food coloring, squirt 3-5 drops in now. Mix.

Step 5: Use a pipette or medicine dropper and squirt the mixture onto the letters. Watch as they bubble and fizz!

Disposal: Due to the sand, dispose of the Frozen Sandcastle in the trash (not down the drain).

Want more Beach/Sand-Themed Activities?

Check these out:

Sand Slime

Sand Dough

Sand Foam

Frozen Sandcastle Ice Painting