Crystal Creations

Make your own mineral formations from simple supplies!

Materials:

• quart sized glass jar

• ½ cup warm water

• Epsom Salt

• spoon

• 2x8" half inch piece of dark construction paper

Instructions:

1. Add warm water to the jar.

2. Stir your salt into the water one spoonful at a time, until the water molecules are completely saturated with salt. You will be able to tell this when no more salt will dissolve and it starts to collect on the bottom.

3. Place the construction paper strip in the jar and let it sit for three weeks. Salt crystals will start to form on the paper as the water evaporates.

Optional:

• Choose a color for your crystals and add a couple drops of food coloring to the water!

• Experiment with different environments for your crystals to grow. Try a shallow pie pan with a circular piece of construction paper.

• You can also try to grow your crystals on objects like a piece of a kitchen sponge, or a paper clip suspended by string hanging from a pencil.

• This experiment works more efficiently on a sunny day! Can you guess why...?

So, how's it work?
If you look at salt with a magnifying glass, you will see it is made up of small crystals. Salt is a mineral, which is a natural occurring crystalline solid. In other words, the minerals are formed as crystal shapes. When the water evaporates, the salt molecules stick together and form this crystalline structure.

These crystals are made up of tinier particles called molecules - so small you couldn't even see them with a microscope. When you put the salt in the water, the salt molecules break away from the crystal - this is now a salty solution. The amount of salt molecules that the water can hold depends on the temperature. Hot water can hold more than cold water. Once the solution is cooled it is now supersaturated, meaning the water does not have any more space to hold more salt.

Other ways of saying salt:

• Sodium chloride

• NaCl

• Halite (a mineral that has cubic shaped crystals; it is your average table salt!)