• Small bowl
• 1/4 cup of water
• 2 tablespoons of Epsom salts
• Small paintbrush
• 1 piece of dark construction paper
• Magnifying glass
What are you learning? How crystals form
The Experiment
1. Prepare a salt solution by filling the bowl with the water and mixing in the Epsom salts.
2. Swish the paintbrush in the solution. Use it to write your name on the paper, rewetting the paintbrush for each stroke.
3. Allow the paper to dry (up to an hour).
The Aha! Effect Look! Your name in crystals! In nature, water mixes with different salts found in soil. When the water evaporates, dry crystals are left. Different salts produce different crystal shapes; Epsom salts leave long spindles of clear, shiny crystals in star burst patterns.
Go One Step Further Larger crystals will form from a pool of solution. Cut a piece of dark construction paper to fit the bottom of a plate. Pour the Epsom salts and water solution into the saucer. Wait about a day for the water to evaporate: the slower the evaporation, the larger the crystals on the top and bottom of the paper. Use your magnifying glass to observe more closely.
Adapted from JANICE VANCLEAVE'S PLAY AND FIND OUT ABOUT SCIENCE (John Wiley & Sons, 1996).
