Sandbox
June - September 2024
Sand is ambiguous. It invites play from people of all ages. It can take on many forms but shakes them off just as easily. In its educational form, the sandbox or sand garden emerged in the mid- nineteenth century in the context of Fröbel’s kindergarten movement. In the 1880s, outdoor sandboxes were first introduced in Boston and quickly spread across the US, serving as places for public play but also for assimilation and social control. American educators such as Dewey and Hall attempted to harness sand’s potential by incorporating sand tables into the classroom. If you look out the window across from this gallery you can see the rooftop where sand tables were used in the 1900’s.
Just as sandboxes are spaces to play with form, sandboxes themselves are always taking different forms. In this room you will find:
a digital sandbox that trades grains for programmable pixels
a light sanbox where moving black sand out of the way allows something else to emerge
a kinetic sandbox that combines sand with starch and soap to create different properties
a sandbox pendulum that creates its own spaces and patterns
a “Chlandni” sandbox surface that vibrates sand with sound
a sandbox full of 400lbs of “premium play sand” #1113, screened and washed
