SandFest 2023 – Tackling a New Big Pile of Sand

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Last year we signed up to take part in the SandFest fundraiser at the Children’s Museum of Phoenix. As related in our blog post about last year, sand is not a forgiving medium. In that first attempt, we learned:

  1. Be good at adjusting to circumstances
  2. Start at the top and work down
  3. You can get good at anything if you spend enough time at it
  4. Spending a day playing in a sand pile is fun

We returned to the same parking lot this year with high hopes and those four lessons under our belt. What we were not prepared for was riverbed sand that was way too coarse to do much with. But we recovered and had a great time, reinforcing all four lessons once again.

We didn’t win, but then again, that wasn’t our goal. The competition was more about building sand sculptures, and we built an entire civilization. The Sand Guys didn’t complement our skills, but they did say that every time they checked in on us, we were smiling.

The best part of it all is that the money raised from this event pays for tickets for 75,000 kids and their parents from underserved communities to come and spend a day at the museum.

Here are some pics with some background on each.

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