How to Grow Crystals

If you do some research you will find that there are a large variety of 'recipes' for growing your own crystals. Do some experimenting and compare how crystals made from different ingredients are different and alike. I picked this recipe to share simply because it uses ingredients you either have in your home or that you can find in your local grocery store.

Materials Needed:

• 1/2 Cup of Water
• 2+ Tablespoons of Alum Powder (Found in the Spice Section at the Grocery Store)
• Food Coloring
• Baby Food Jar
• Paper Towel

Instructions:
Put the water into a microwave safe container. Place in the microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.

Slowly add the alum to the water, stirring to dissolve. Keep adding the alum, a little at a time until it does not dissolve anymore. This will usually take at least 2 Tablespoons. Add food coloring if desired. Let this mixture settle for a minute or two.

Carefully empty the alum and water mixture into the baby food jar, making sure no undissolved alum gets into the jar. Put the jar someplace where it will not be disturbed for a few days and loosely cover it with a piece of paper towel to keep dust out.

Watch your jar carefully for the next few days, but make sure it does not get moved! After about 3 days, or when the crystals are the desired size, carefully pour off the water and you can remove your crystals and set them out on a paper towel and let them dry.

Make more crystals, experimenting with different colors, times, and even recipes. Try looking at them under a magnifying glass or a microscope.