Beaufort County children’s museum to soon shutter its Tanger 2 location. Here’s why
For nearly four years since its grand opening, The Sandbox at Tanger 2 has served as an interactive children’s museum for kids up to 12 years old. But on March 11, the Bluffton location will close its doors for good.
The Sandbox is described as a safe, inclusive and child-friendly environment where children can learn and explore “through hands-on discovery and imaginative play that cultivates their physical, social and cognitive development,” according to its website.
Recently, the board of directors decided to pour “all resources going forward” into the Hilton Head location on the south end of the island, according to the museum’s Facebook page.
Nancy Fowler, the museum’s executive director, said Saturday that between staffing issues and fewer visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bluffton branch “just couldn’t recover.” In 2020, both locations were closed for 12 weeks during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re going to focus on the Hilton Head location right now, so in the future we’ll be able to replicate what we have there at another location somewhere in this area to be able to serve Bluffton, Beaufort and Jasper families,” Fowler said.
As of March 12, The Sandbox at 80 Nassau St. at the Lowcountry Celebration Park will be the only remaining location.
Museum offers a hands-on experience
In the early 2000s, a group of Lowcountry moms recognized the need for a community space where preschool- and elementary-aged children could engage in educational play. By 2004 and under nonprofit status, they were on their way to reaching their fundraising goal of $255,000, according to the museum’s website.
The museum’s first iteration opened in December 2005 at St. Andrew By-The-Sea United Methodist Church’s youth building, Fowler said.
By July 2019, The Sandbox had expanded beyond Hilton Head Island to a satellite location in Bluffton’s Tanger 2 outlets. Two years later, a 4,000-square-foot museum with an outdoor space at Lowcountry Celebration Park opened its doors.
Among the exhibits at the Tanger 2 Sandbox are an art studio, a puppet theater, a replica of a shrimp boat and a lighthouse that mimics the one at Harbour Town and demonstrates a pneumatic air system.
Beyond interactive exhibits, The Sandbox hosts community outreach activities and events, offers weekly and summer programs, and partners with other local nonprofits that foster educational development. Despite its imminent closure, the museum’s free Discover, Imagine, Grow (D.I.G.) Empowerment through Play program for children 3 to 5 will still be held for Bluffton families at Bluffton library, Fowler said.
For one more week, families vying to get to the Tanger 2 location before it closes can do so for free from March 6 through 11. Signing up online to reserve a spot is still required.
