science
Growing Crystals: Your children can experiment with these sets
It’s not that difficult to grow your own crystals. You only have to know how
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Whether amethyst or smoky quartz, ruby or sapphire: Large crystals arise in nature over many centuries, if not millennia. To speed up the process, certain minerals can also be grown at home. Without any scientific laboratory or specialist knowledge.
A crystal is made up of tiny atoms, ions, or molecules. The building blocks are arranged geometrically and give the solid its typical structure. For this reason, table salt is also one of the crystalline materials – and can be easily grown at home. How children can use easy-to-understand chemical processes to create their own salt crystals in different colors is explained in the following sets.
Experiment kit for children: growing crystals
1st set
The experiment set from Galileo Science is called “Growing Crystals Yourself” and is (according to the manufacturer) suitable for children aged eight and over. It contains all the accessories you need to trigger the desired chemical reactions. Instructions take you step by step through the entire experiment – until the colored salt crystals emerge.
2nd set
The complete set “Growing Crystals” by cosmos Contains a large set of materials with step-by-step instructions: casting molds and plaster of paris for figures that can be covered with crystalline covers, colored paper and a treasure chest to display the salt crystals that glow in the dark. However, the experiment kit is only suitable for children aged ten and over.
3rd set
the Science kit by Galileo Science for children aged eight and over contains a small science laboratory and accessories. The plaster figures and special blotting paper should help to create differently colored salt crystals – which even sparkle in the dark. This set also contains clear instructions that explain the chemical processes step by step.
Growing crystals: DIY instructions to do it yourself
In theory, you can grow the salt crystals without an experiment set, you only need the following ingredients:
- 250 ml of water
- 250 g Potassium aluminum sulfate
- a large glass or plastic container
- a shashlik skewer (made of wood)
- a thin wire and wool
- toothpick
Then proceed as follows:
Step 1: To grow a star-shaped crystal, at least three toothpicks must be crossed and tied together with some wire.
Step 2: Then each toothpick is individually wrapped with wool, preferably from the outside to the inside – this allows you to form a loop in the middle through which the thread is pulled. Then cut it off the ball so that there is still some length left to hang the star on.
Step 3: Take the skewer and place it across the container. Tie the thread to it in the middle so that the star protrudes into the vessel – without touching the floor or the walls.
Step 4: Boil the water in a small saucepan and stir in the potassium aluminum sulfate until it has dissolved.
Step 5: Tip the solution into the container with the star and then place the container in a safe (jerk-free) place that is permanently warm.
Step 6: Now it’s time to wait. It takes at least seven to ten days for the first small crystals to form around the star.
Source: Geolino
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