Wikijunior:Big Book of Fun Science Experiments/Grow your own crystals

From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection

To grow your own crystals you will require:

• A very clean jar or glass,
• A long piece of thread,
• A clean metal paperclip,
• Washing soda - You may find it in you kitchen or in your grocery store,
• Very hot water,
• A support stick, a pencil is ideal (Hexagonal to stop it rolling off)

Crystals are grown by first stirring as much washing soda as you can into the hot water, until no more will dissolve i.e, a small amount stays solid at the bottom. Next, tie the string around the pencil securely and hang the thread inside the container, not touching the sides or bottom. Place the container in a warm place and leave undisturbed. As the water evaporates, the solid will have nowhere to go (As it was previously held by the water) and clings to the string instead. This continues until most or all of the water has evaporated leaving the solid behind - rearranged in crystalline form.

Do not eat these crystals as they can cause severe bodily harm.