Visiting the Sandbox Children’s Museum, Hilton Head Island

The Sandbox Children’s Museum is a must-see when visiting Hilton Head Island with kids. This is one of the best children’s museums we have been to, and we have visited quite a few in our 9 years of family travel. It is an interactive children’s museum offering indoor and outdoor play centers for ages 1-12 years.

Sandbox Children’s Museum Location

The museum is located right next to Lowcountry Celebration Park, off Pope Avenue. There is free parking for the museum out front.  We played at Adventure Playground pirate ship in the park while we waited for our time at the museum and it was perfect.  

Reservations

Reservations to visit the museum can be made online, in 3-hour blocks.  This keeps the crowds at bay and allows you to make the most of your time at this interactive museum. If you are planning to go on a rainy day, book early!  

Visiting the Sandbox Children’s Museum

 When you enter the Sandbox Children’s Museum on Hilton Head Island, the incredibly kind staff will welcome you with open arms. The child-friendly environment is apparent immediately, with warm welcomes for the kids too.  They give a quick overview of the layout of the space, and check-in to confirm your reservation.  

Maker Space

If you have older kids who enjoy art, be sure to check out the maker spaces immediately to your right when you enter. These incredible art spaces are filled with everything from tennis balls to crepe, paper, river and stencils, pom poms, and pipe cleaners, with the requisite glue markers, and tape to help bring your visions to   We easily spent half an hour in the space when we first arrived, turning tennis ball cans into personalized pencil holders for both kids to bring home.  

Main Room of the Museum

As you enter the main part of the museum, you’ll see a sand table showcasing 12 different biomes.  The biomes change every few minutes and fascinate my kids.  There are also kinetic sand tables for smaller kids to play.  

Lego Wall

On your left, there is a huge Lego wall to build on.   Surrounding the Lego wall is the Lego art of Christian Sudduth, a true Lego artist.  He also owns Sno Cones by Chris, located in Palmetto Bay Marina. He showcases his Lego art including the Titanic, the Statue of Liberty, and other iconic figures. 

Just past the Lego wall on the left is the family restroom, centrally located in the museum.  This entire space is wide open and filled with light from the floor-to-ceiling windows at the far end of the museum.

Reading Nook

For older kids, another special tribute. A VW van turned into a reading bus! Little A described it as a cozy corner with chapter books and pillows to sit back and relax, undisturbed by the little guys.  She was thrilled to find a Babysitters Club book there and read for a bit while Baby J and I continued to explore the museum.  

The Castle

Just past the bus on the left is a two-story castle.  Inside the first floor is a fully stocked dress-up area for imaginative play offering costumes from princesses to firefighters, fairies to police officers. Also on the first floor is a light room sensory experience. There are multicolored lights on the floor, ceilings, and walls, a wind tunnel, and scarves to fly around the room.  Baby J loved this space!

Upstairs in the castle, there is a puppet theater and nice high walls for a safe environment despite being up so high.  Don’t want to take the stairs back down? No worries, there is a tunnel slide down to the first floor!  The kids loved this and rode it a bunch of times.  

Play Centers

Back on the main floor, you enter the heart of the museum.  There’s a golf stream jet cockpit to explore called “Flight Deck,” Island Tire Garage with Hot Wheels, a train table, and even a shrimp boat! Yes, a huge play shrimp boat with climbing, and a captain’s wheel.   The Shrimp Tales has a lower crawlspace and an upper deck.  Learn about shrimp, and shrimp boats, or dress up in rain gear and boots as a member of the boat crew. 

Other play centers in the main room include Beaches Vet Clinic, Island Grocery (with a working scanner that kept my kids busy for at least 30 minutes), Charlie’s Petite E’Toile Certe Cafe, a building space with cardboard bricks, and a post office. The kids made new friends playing in the grocery store and there was something for everyone to do in the store.

Baby/Toddler Space

There is a baby/toddler space “Bepaw and Mimi’s Dolphin Cove” for the little ones in the main open room. Ideal if you have a little one and an older child as you can see most of the expansive space from the toddler place. There are also benches in this room if you need a break. 

Outdoor Space

Don’t forget to explore outside on the large deck of the Sandbox Children’s Museum, there is so much more to see!  Bordering Lowcountry Celebration Park, the views are beautiful.  There is a “pool noodle forest” that my kids enjoyed running back and forth through.  There is also a rock climbing wall (not too tall, no worries), outdoor painting easels, a large Connect 4 game, corn hole, hopscotch and so much more.  

Sandbox Children’s Museum

The Sandbox Children’s Museum is a must-see if visiting Hilton Head Island, South Carolina with kids.  Offering activities for ages 1-12 years, and tons of hands-on play,  there is something for everyone to enjoy.  I am so glad we went on a nice day given how many outdoor activities there were to do on the deck that the kids would have missed out on in the rain.   

Kid-Friendly Activities on Hilton Head Island

Looking for more kid-friendly activities on Hilton Head Island?  Check out these posts:

• 30+ Family-Friendly Things to Do in Hilton Head with Kids
• 24 Hilton Head Island Parks and Playgrounds
• Visiting Lawton Stables on Hilton Head Island with Kids