Aqua Sand

You may have seen those TV commercials for Aqua Sand; sand that sculpts underwater but comes out dry. Well this amazing product does actually work and is not a gimmick. Also called Magic Sand, Space Sand or Mars Sand among others, Magic Sand is colored sand that has been coated with a hydrophobic substance, chemically known as trimethylhydroxysilane. Basically the sand repels water and thus sticks together in water but reverts to ordinary sand when out of water.

Like most products, Magic Sand was not always used as a play toy. Originally it was designed to treat oil spills by being sprinkled onto oil and letting the sand and oil mix, which would cause the mixture to sink to the bottom of the ocean. Due to costs this plan was abandoned and a child's play toy was born. Aqua Sand is one of the newest reincarnations of an 80's product.

Kids love to play and if you have some time to supervise, Aqua Sand can make a great toy. You can buy an Ocean Adventure kit or a Mermaid kit, both of which include a container, a squeeze bottle of sand, a rake / scoop style toy, a nozzle and a turtle or mermaid head figure depending on which Aqua Sand kit you buy. There are a total of six different colors that can be bought stand alone and refill kits as well. You can create columns, bridges and whatever other designs your child can think of in the tank or use your own container for a bigger work area.

To make any review complete, it is only fair to include the downsides as well. Some people complain that the tank provided is smaller than they expected. My only suggestion on that is to think outside of the box and use a Tupperware container or other basin to hold the water. Another common issue and common to most toys like this is that if you use more than one or two colors while playing it is hard to separate them again when cleaning up. There are six total colors available for sale and the sand mixing together will probably be unavoidable at some point. The cool designs will often involve using colors close together that will not separate easily. Clean up can also be messy as the sand has to be scooped back into the bottles, even though funnels are provided. I recommend placing a rag or towel of some sort underneath the play area so sand does not get everywhere if someone spills it. The kit could even be used outside if you wanted to truly minimize any mess during cleanup.

Overall the product can be entertaining, but it comes down to what your kid likes to do. The commercial for Aqua Sand, like most commercials geared towards kids, is flashier and fancier than what you'll probably experience. However, the basic premise of the product itself, styling sand under water and having it stick together but return to normal dry sand when out of water is true.

Buying the prepackaged Aqua Sand kit is a good way to jump right into the action, but there is also a way to make your own Magic Sand. You will need the following:

• Clean Sand, colored if preferred
  
• Baking Pan
• Oven
  
• Scotchgard

Pour some dry sand onto a baking pan, the amount of sand is up to you. Evenly spread it out on the pan and bake in an oven for at least an hour at 250 degrees. The goal is to completely dry out the sand and remove all moisture. The temperature and time can vary based on amount of sand used.

When the sand is completely dry, take it out of the oven and let it cool. Then evenly spray the sand with Scotchgard. Scotchgard is designed to waterproof fabric and upholstery. Shake the pan or stir the sand and lightly spray again. Repeat for a third time and let dry. If you would rather not spray Scotchgard on your pan, dump the sand onto newspaper and repeat the spray procedure above.

The sand should now be hydrophobic, just like Aqua Sand. You now know how to make an Aqua Sand imitation.