Sandcastle Lessons - are they really a thing?

People say "you get paid to do what!"

My Name is Andy Hancock and I have been creating large scale "WOW" artwork and communicating with humor for the last 35 years around the world.

I work on South Padre Island in Texas which has the best beach to build sandcastles and teach others, anywhere. I love it for its tropical weather, great, interesting, eclectic people and the many unique things you can do here. I have lived all over the world but found my "real home" after discovering what the sand on our little island could do, and, More importantly, what it could do for others.

Building Sandcastles is just for kids right?

WRONG

Not only did I find out how it helped to calm my mind but I saw how it emptied stressed people's minds and helped them focus COMPLETELY, on learning a new skill. I also noticed how, in this day of electronic everything, it helped to put families back together by engaging every single person in the activity.

Simple days at the beach where you built a wall while digging the biggest hole possible are still hard to beat but when you show people how to get their sandcastle into the air up to 6 ft high - then they really get interested.

Learning to do something new is always interesting but I don't show people the entire activity - THEY DO the entire activity with instruction along the way. I teach everyone from 4yr olds and grandmothers thru to large Corporate teams (Up to 150 people) and the reaction is always the same - "Wow, I can't believe I did that!"

The joy that people get from the activity inspired me to improve my lessons over the years from pioneering the "barrel method" to building the Alamo (300 tons) https://www.facebook.com/fiestapadre/

But I wanted my company www.sandcastlelessons.com to teach people more - and they asked for more! After teaching them the 4 basic types of sand sculpting - Forming, drip castling, hand stacking and soft packing, people wanted to come back year on year to hone their skills - both for themselves, and to teach others! So I decided to leave the barrel model for demonstrations in hotels and suchlike and focus on getting bigger and more scientific about what I did.

This led to experimenting with all sorts of forms (plastic wraps and buckets) to find out what exactly was possible with our sand. I also realized how little I knew in order to talk about how things really worked.

I got serious! I calculated the weight of one of my buckets of sand and water mix by measuring first the volume of the bucket, then filling it with dry sand, then removing the bottom and inverting it and filling it with a molten mix of free-draining sand and water. Hey presto - this is how much sand weighs per cubic foot ( after hours of asking crazy math and calculus questions on google)

This was all done on someone's driveway with a set of bathroom scales! Then to the beach! Now I had to put the numbers into my lessons in a fun way so people could wrap their minds around what they were doing and how science was holding up their sandcastle. The results were awesome.

All my lessons supply everything to help you relax and you even get your own full toolkit to keep. we found showing people how to put over 1000 lbs of sand in the air and how to make a bridge with their own hands kept them entertained for the entire time.

Interestingly, people always have the same response "I had no idea there was soo much science involved in this"

I have been very lucky over the years to have given lessons to people who are the best in their fields - These include real sand scientists, concrete and forming experts, chemists and biologists. All have helped me to form different ways to explain the science of sandcastles! A book is currently under investigation!

My lessons range from 2 hours (yes, two hours with your children on a beach without a phone - I know you think it isn't possible!) to corporate events days and everything in between including Rockstar sandcastles and Texas Style VIP sandcastle Lessons.

We have found our 3 hour lessons are the most popular as they help everyone relax, build a big castle and have plenty of time to take videos and pictures and even spend the whole day with it if they so wish to. Bringing a tent to put over it so you can keep working in the afternoon sun is always a great idea and we supply those too! (bring lots of drinking water and sunblock!)

There is, of course, a lot more I could tell you but I haven't got the time or the room! - You'll have to Visit the Sandcastle Capital of the World, South Padre Island for yourself!

so you have read all this and are saying to yourself - "he hasn't told us how to build a sandcastle"

easy

1. Only use wet sloppy sand
2. Build the base block like a pyramid
3. After the block is done - work with your tools from the top down.
4. watch the videos on Youtube and subscribe of course!
5. Share your knowledge as "When we share, We Grow"

So Sandcastle lessons are a thing! They are not only a way of passing on a great new skill to everyone in the family it also teaches science and art at the same time. It builds bridges, personalities and company bonds. Do you think you really know your employees? think again.

So what can i do for you - No idea - but I can help you make your family happy - Guaranteed

See you on the beach or simply give me a call on 9564339948 if you are heading my way.

Andy Hancock