The first experiment, growing stalactites and stalagmites, was an EPIC FAIL. It seemed simple enough: mix epsom salt and hot water in a cup, let a string tied to two paper clips soak in the solution, get another cup to place one of the paper clips in, and wait for the stalactites and stalagmites to form. I waited a whole week and NOTHING happened!
I tried the experiment again and, once again, nothing happened. I went to take the cups out of the case and found a surprise.
A crystal had formed in one of the cups! Instead of traveling down the suspended string to make stalactites, the solution stayed in the cup and formed this lovely crystal.
Inspired by the crystal, I decided to grow crystals for the next experiment. This experiment involved dissolving alum (found in the baking aisle of most grocery stores) in hot water and letting it set overnight to form seed crystals. Then, you tie one end of a string to a crystal and the other to a pencil and hang the crystal in the jar to let it keep growing. I forgot about the whole string and pencil bit and just left everything in the jar. A week has gone by and here's what we have.
Lots of tiny crystals!
I've added the crystals to another mixture of alum and water. What do you think will happen now? Stop by the library to see what the crystals do next!
Enjoy Summer Reading!
Alyssa
No comments:
Post a Comment