Until earlier this year, I’d never heard of drip castles. But when I saw some kids making them during a January family nature club outing to Leo Carrillo State Park, I was intrigued.
It wasn’t until just this past week that we finally got a lesson in making one. So if you’re looking for a new twist on an old favorite (building sand castles, that is), here’s a quick guide to making drip castles with kids:
Before you start, make sure you have an ample supply of water and sand. Easy enough close to shore at the beach. Just create a bowl in the sand to ensure your water stays put.
If you’re trying this in your own backyard beach, make sure you have a bucket or two of water on hand.
1. Create the base of your castle with a mound of sand.
2. Start building. This is the best part! Grab a fistful of wet sand – but not just any wet sand. Really, really wet sand (think pancake batter-like). This is what the sand castle experts have termed “slurry” or “sand mud.”
The fun part comes in how you apply the sand to your castle. You want to drip the slurry over your creation by pointing your sand-filled hand thumb down. Then let some of the mixture in your hand drip down through your fingers.
The result is some really cool looking stalagmite structures – which just happen to look a lot like towers and peaks.
3. Continue building your drip castle until you have reached the desired height.
4. These creations aren’t meant to last, so take some pleasure in either watching the tide wash your castle away … or have fun destroying it yourself.
Have you ever made a drip castle?
