An Easy Way to Make Crystals

It's easy to grow crystals with household table salt.

Basic table salt forms crystals when exposed to the right elements. Growing crystals at home is a fairly simple process, however, it may take up to three weeks for the crystals to complete their growing process, according to EducationBug.org. This project is appropriate for all children with an adult present. There are many ways to adapt this project to make it more complex.

Things You'll Need

• Wide-mouthed glass jar
• Water
• Food coloring (optional)
• Non-iodized table salt, approximately ½ cup
• 1 tbsp. measuring spoon
• Spoon
• String
• Scissors
• Pencil

Instructions

1. Fill a wide-mouthed glass jar halfway with room-temperature tap water. Mix a few drops of food coloring into the water to make colored crystals.

2. Add 3 tbsp. of non-iodized table salt and stir until the salt dissolves.

3. Add more salt, 1 tbsp. at a time, and continue stirring the salt water mixture as you add the salt. Continue this process until the salt starts to collect and no longer dissolves.

4. Tie a length of string around a pencil. Measure and cut the string so it just reaches the surface of the water when you lay the pencil across the rim of the jar.

5. Rest the pencil horizontally on the rim of the jar, check to make sure that the string just reaches the surface of the water and set it in a place where the pencil will not be disturbed.

6. Observe the jar daily over the next three weeks to record the growth of salt crystals on the string.

Tips & Warnings

• Experiment with various set-ups and compare them to the original jar to see how they vary. Some ideas: add more than one string per jar; place strings close together and far apart; place a string in the jar so that it touches the bottom of the jar instead of the just the top of the water.

References

• Science Project: Make Salt Crystals
• Education Bug: Salt Crystals Project
• Oregon State University: Amazing Crystal Garden