Ball-Drops

Ball-drops are a special form of sand sculpturing requiring an engineering and creative mind. Each ball-drop is unique. No two are ever quite the same. You can draw a picture or sketch of what you plan to do but it rarely, if ever, comes out the way you have planned. In most cases, the results are better and more complex than your original concept. This is because a good part of it comes from your creative thinking as you construct your drops.

By definition, you could say a “ball-drop” is “any pile of sand” on which a ball, when started from its highest point, is forced by gravity to travel a specific course down or through tunnels to a finish point. A “single track” ball-drop could be called a “roller coaster” and the first drop you build will probably be just that. After you learn how to build a single run you will expand to multiple runs including tunnels, reverse runs, etc. etc.

The only limitation as to how big and complex your Ball-drop gets to be is all in your mind. You can build a “Ball-drop” and know nothing about sand “sculpturing”. In the process of building a “Ball-drop” you will indirectly be sculpturing by forming walls and edges for your ball runs; and creating landscapes between and around your “Drops”.

After mastering the building of Ball-drops, you will probably be drawn into the art of sculpturing by the desire to enhance your overall Ball-drop. Your first effort might be to sculpture a castle at the top of your Ball-drop from which the balls roll out of. This book does not cover the art of sand sculpturing or the special tools needed.