Crystals Spikes
Grow Crystal Spikes
Black construction paper
Scissors
A pie pan, cake pan, or shallow bowl
Warm water
Epsom salt (usually near the rubbing alcohol in the supermarket)
1) Use your scissors to cut the black paper so it will fit in the bottom of your pie
pan.
This activity works best on a sunny day.
2) Add 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt to 1/4 cup of warm water. Stir until the salt is
dissolved.
3) Pour the salty water onto the black paper in the pie pan.
4) Put the pie pan out into the sun. When the water evaporates, you'll see lots of
crystal spikes on the black paper!
If you can look at the crystals under a microscope.
Why does Epsom salt make crystal spikes?
When you add Epsom salt to water, the salt dissolves. When you leave the pan in
the sun, the water evaporates and the salt forms crystals shaped like long
needles.
If you tried this experiment with table salt instead of Epsom salt, you wouldn't get
crystal spikes. That's because table salt and Epsom salt are chemically different,
so the crystals that they form are very different.
The picture on the right shows part of an artwork created for the Exploratorium by
Swiss artist Jörg Lenzlinger. He mixed different kinds of salts with water. As the
water evaporated, the salts crystallized, making beautiful shapes that kept
growing and changing.
Credits: http://www.exploratorium.edu
Black construction paper
Scissors
A pie pan, cake pan, or shallow bowl
Warm water
Epsom salt (usually near the rubbing alcohol in the supermarket)
1) Use your scissors to cut the black paper so it will fit in the bottom of your pie
pan.
This activity works best on a sunny day.
2) Add 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt to 1/4 cup of warm water. Stir until the salt is
dissolved.
3) Pour the salty water onto the black paper in the pie pan.
4) Put the pie pan out into the sun. When the water evaporates, you'll see lots of
crystal spikes on the black paper!
If you can look at the crystals under a microscope.
Why does Epsom salt make crystal spikes?
When you add Epsom salt to water, the salt dissolves. When you leave the pan in
the sun, the water evaporates and the salt forms crystals shaped like long
needles.
If you tried this experiment with table salt instead of Epsom salt, you wouldn't get
crystal spikes. That's because table salt and Epsom salt are chemically different,
so the crystals that they form are very different.
The picture on the right shows part of an artwork created for the Exploratorium by
Swiss artist Jörg Lenzlinger. He mixed different kinds of salts with water. As the
water evaporated, the salts crystallized, making beautiful shapes that kept
growing and changing.
Credits: http://www.exploratorium.edu
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