Alum Crystals Materials 1/2 cup hot tap water 2 tablespoons alum 1 beaker spoon A sheet of paper towel Method 1. Pour 1/2 cup of hot tap water into a clean beaker. 2. Slowly stir in alum, a little at a time, until it stops dissolving. Don't add the whole amount; just enough to saturate the water (you don’t want to see grains on the bottom of the beaker). 3. Loosely cover the jar with a coffee filter or paper towel (to keep dust out) and allow the jar to sit undisturbed overnight. Mrs G will keep an eye on your crystal and therefore will do the following… 4. The next day, pour the alum solution from the first jar into the clean jar. You will see small alum crystals at the bottom of the jar. These are 'seed' crystals that you will use to grow a big crystal. 5. Tie nylon fishing line around the largest, best-shaped crystal. Tie the other end to a pencil. 6. Hang the seed crystal in the jar with the alum solution, into the jar far enough so that it will be covered in liquid but won't touch the bottom or sides of the jar. Cover it with the sheet of paper towel. Copper Sulfate Crystals Materials Copper sulfate (spoonfuls until the solution dissolved) 60 ml boiling water 2x beakers Plastic spoon Tripod Clay triangle Funnel Coffee filter Thread Paddle pop stick Method 1. Stir copper sulfate into boiling water with a plastic spoon until no more will dissolve. Perform this step quickly before the water cools down, otherwise crystals won’t form. 2. Set up a tripod with a clay triangle, a funnel with a coffee filter and place the second beaker under the funnel. 3. Pour the solution through the filtration system. 4. Get a seed crystal from the trolley and tie a piece of thread around this crystal. 5. Tie the thread around the paddle pop stick. 6. Place the seed crystal into the solution, make sure there is no lingering piece of thread in the solution. 7. Allow it to sit in an undisturbed location for several hours or overnight. Select the best crystal as your 'seed' for growing a large crystal. 8. Place the beaker onto the trolley on a piece of paper with your name on it. Salt Crystal Needles Materials Beaker 20ml Epsom salt 20ml Hot tap water plastic spoon measuring cup Method 1. In a cup or small, deep bowl, measure 20ml of Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) and mix with 20ml of hot tap water (hot as it will get from the tap). 2. Stir about a minute to dissolve the Epsom salts. There will still be some undissolved crystals at the bottom. 3. Place the cup in the refrigerator. The bowl will fill with needle-like crystals within three hours.
