Thursday, October 1, 2026
For generations of children, there’s been something irresistible about a pile of sand and a shovel. At Long Island Children’s Museum, that simple childhood pleasure has been turned into an entire construction site.
Dig Zone, the museum’s newest permanent exhibit, opened July 18, inviting kids to dig, scoop, haul, build and experiment in a hands-on environment designed to make learning feel like play.
“Children naturally learn by doing,” Ashley Niver, the museum’s director of education said in a statement announcing the exhibit’s arrival. “Dig Zone gives families the freedom to experiment, build, collaborate and imagine together while developing important STEM and social-emotional skills in a joyful, hands-on environment.”
This is the second new permanent addition to the museum in less than a year, following the opening of “Saltwater Stories: We Need the Sea & the Sea Needs Me” in October. But while Saltwater Stories explores Long Island’s relationship with the sea, Dig Zone gets down to something more fundamental — sand, trucks, tools and the freedom to figure things out.
“It’s an exhibit about hands-on construction play — a childhood favorite of working with sand in different ways,” Aimee Terzulli, the museum’s vice president of strategic engagement, says.
Creating Dig Zone required museum leadership to strike a delicate balance between innovation and nostalgia. The longtime sand play exhibit Sandy Island had been a favorite with young visitors for years, and as plans for an upgrade took shape, families made it clear they hoped the beloved experience would remain part of the museum.
“We wanted to do an upgrade, and when we were thinking about other ideas, everybody kept asking us, ‘please make sure the sand returns’,” Terzulli says.
That overwhelming response shaped the exhibit’s evolution. The familiar sand is still there, but now it’s the centerpiece of a much larger, adventure-filled environment where young explorers can spread out and let their imaginations take over.
Dig Zone is essentially a child-sized construction site, complete with shovels, brooms, wheelbarrows, trucks and a hand-cranked sand conveyor. Children can put on a hard hat and vest, scoop sand into construction vehicles, move materials from one location to another and experiment with the tools around them.
Construction trucks help bring Dig Zone to life, tapping into the enduring appeal construction vehicles hold for young children. One moment, a child might be steering an excavator or hauling a load in a dump truck; the next, they’re digging, building and shaping the sandy landscape with a shovel in hand. Along the way, children can create on their own or work side by side with new friends, turning imaginative play into a shared adventure.
“The trucks are a real hit, we use Tonka trucks,” Terzulli says. “I think there’s a little bit of like a nostalgia for parents and grandparents — those trucks are like old kind of fun equipment.”
Dig Zone has struck a chord with adults, too. Parents, grandparents and caregivers often find themselves reminiscing as the familiar combination of sandbox play and construction vehicles evokes cherished childhood memories, making the experience one that generations can enjoy together.
Just beyond the dig site, a spacious bench designed to resemble a boardwalk where adults can relax — or step into the action. It’s an invitation for families to dig, build and create together, turning playtime into a shared experience.
But perhaps the exhibit’s greatest success isn’t found in the sand or the trucks — it’s in the connections children make. In the short time since Dig ne opened, the staff has watched strangers become playmates, instinctively working together to fill buckets, sift sand and solve the challenge of moving it from one place to another.
Much more than imaginative play is happening here. What appears to be simple sandbox fun is, in reality, a hands-on lesson in discovery. Every scoop of sand and construction decision encourages children to think like young engineers: testing ideas, solving problems and learning how different materials behave through exploration and experimentation.
“They are developing really strong skills, like early engineering and STEM concepts,” Terzulli adds. “All things about how sand feels, how to move sand, moving things from place to place.
How do I crank this, how do I move this, how will I get it. Some decision making, also there’s fine and gross motor skills [involved].”
Designed with children ages 1 to 12 in mind, Dig Zone’s appeal has stretched well beyond that age range.
That broad interest may stem from its greatest strength: the ability to draw families away from their screens and into shared experiences. Dig Zone reflects museum leadership’s commitment to create opportunities for hands-on discovery, face-to-face interaction and imaginative play. In a world increasingly dominated by devices, the exhibit offers something refreshingly simple — the chance for children and adults to connect with one another, one scoop of sand at a time.
