Reuniting Kids w/ Nature - Salt Crystals

Photo source

MATERIALS:
A jar, water, salt (about a half cup), a spoon, a piece of string (about 6 inches long), a popsicle stick (or other item that can sit on top of your jar), a cookie sheet or plate, a pair of scissors

TIME FRAME:
15 - 60 minutes + Observation over 2-10 days

PROCEDURE:

1. Fill your jar with water and put it on your cookie sheet or plate (this could get messy over the next few days)
2. Add your salt to the water and mix it together
3. Cut your piece of string and tie it to the middle of your popsicle stick
4. Lay your popsicle stick on top of your jar so the string is hanging down into the water and salt mixture
5. Carefully place your experiment In a safe place and observe it over the next several day

REFLECTION:
How did it take for the first crystals to form on your string? When did they stop growing? Did your crystals crawl up onto your popsicle stick? When you look at the closely, what do they look like?

CONNECTIONS: 
You can save packaging and the cost of shipping on our planet by making your own Rock Candy!  Stir 3 cups of sugar into one cup of boiling water, carefully pour it into a jar, put a wooden skewer in the mixture and wait for your candy to form just like the salt crystals did!

TIDBITS:
Did you know that a crystals color will depend on which minerals its made from?  Yep!  Amethyst gets its color from the iron it contains!


TIPS & IMAGININGS:
You can add a bit of food coloring to your water and salt mixture at the very  beginning to get colored crystals! Can you imagine an entire cave filled with green or red crystals?


Try this experiment several times, each time leaving it in a different spot.  Do the crystals grow differently based on whether or not they were in a warm spot vs. a cool spot?  What happens when you put it in the sun?

This activity is part of a series of low cost, hands on activities that can be used by anyone who has a passion for nature and who believes that a child's time spent in nature is not only important, but necessary.  Each activity was either created by me or gathered from a variety of sources.  You can find the complete list of all of the activities on my Nature Activities tab.

xoxo,

M