Is it raining or just too hot outside?  Are your kids bored and dying for something fun to do?  Can’t figure out something to do with your littlest one?  Then head over to The Sandbox, An Interactive Children’s Museum (843-842-7645), a wonderful interactive children’s museum and the Island’s only hands-on activity center for children. 

    There is a lot of fun to be had for children of any age in this 2,500-square foot center, especially those eight years old and under, including infants and toddlers. After you walk through the wooden gate, you will see the Loggerhead Sandcastle to your right, filled with magical sand.  This sand can be formed into any shape you desire, but because of its unique composition, it brushes right off your hands.

    The Builders of Tomorrow Exhibit is a construction zone where little ones can test their building skills.  On the ship “The Adventure,” they can dress up as pirates and hop aboard William Hilton’s ship, full of nooks and crannies.  The dinosaur rock course will have them literally climbing walls.  If you child loves airplanes and adventures in flight, they can climb inside a real cockpit and pretend to fly through the starlit night.

    For those who like to pretend to be a chef, there is a make-believe café where they can buy and prepare meals.  At the SCBT Bank, they can play with money, learn how to write checks, or even imagine they are the teller.  Charlie’s Perfect Playplace, with its play gym, fun wall panels, and interactive puzzles and toys, is perfect for infants and toddlers. 

    If your child is a natural born artist, there is an eight-foot wall made just for doodling and down the hall kids can paint, play musical instruments, or celebrate a birthday. 

    Upstairs is an area where they can put on costumes and see themselves on TV, a puppet theater, Lego table, train table, and board games and puzzles for the older ones.  There’s even a comfy corner library where you and your child can read to each other.

    There is a small fee for all this fun at The Sandbox, but children of almost every age will find something they’ll love.  

    The Sandbox, a non-profit organization, is located at 18A Pope Avenue, two blocks off the Sea Pines Circle behind St. Andrew by the Sea United Methodist Church.  They are open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. (and open Mondays from Memorial Day through August), but call for seasonal and holiday hours as well as special programs and events.

    For more information, see our Ad Directory under Museums.

    Also see “Things To Do” #44, #57, #58, #60, and #62.