Family FECS: Growing Crystals

Monday 20 July 2015

Growing Crystals

Day 0 - Evening start

We are conducting a Science experiment growing crystals from sugar... and turning them into homemade lollipops :-)

Age: From 4 years old

Objectives:

1. Learning how crystals grow.
2. Learning patience.
3. Learning how to record down experiment observations.

Materials:

1. 1 cup water
2. 3 cups sugar
3. 1 wooden stick (I use the one-time use wooden chopsticks)
4. 1 glass (I re-cycle jam jar)
5. 1 cardboard
6. 2 clothe pegs
7. 1 cooking pot
8. 4-5 drops of food coloring (optional)
9. 1 TBS maple syrup for favoring (optional)

Directions:

1. Add 4 drops of color into each jar (optional)

2. Boil the water with sugar until solution boils and quickly remove from stove.

3. Fill each jar with sugar solution, stir and mix well.

4. Let it cool down to room temperature.

5. In the mean time, make a hole in the middle of a cardboard and insert a chopstick through it.

6. Peg the chopstick with clothe peg as shown in the picture.

7. Coat the chopstick with sugar solution and thereafter coat it with sugar (as seed starter for the crystal to attach to).

8. Submerge the chopstick coated with sugar into the jar (making sure that the stick does not touch the glass).

9. Watch it grow in a couple of days.

11. After 2 days or so, break the hard crust on top and take the chopstick out.

12. Filter the sugar solution into a new jar to get rid of the loose crystals.

13. Soak the chopstick in the new filtered jar of sugar solution and continue to watch it grow.

14. Record your observations from the start date to the end date in a journal (optional)

Video Demonstration:

Step-by-Step Pictorial Guide:

Prepare the materials in a tray ready for the experiment.
P.S. I decided to use white sugar for clarity, instead of the rock sugar shown in the tray.

Add 4 drops of color into each jar

Measure 3 cups of sugar

and pour them into a cooking pot

Measure 1 cup of water

and pour it into the cooking pot

Add in a few drops of maple syrup as desired for favouring

Bring to boil and stir frequently

You will notice that as the sugar dissolves, the water turns cloudy

Bring to a boil and quickly turn off the fire

You will see that once off the stove, the boiled sugar solution turns clear again

Fill each jar with sugar solution, stir and mix well. Let it cool down to room temperature.

In the mean time, cut an A4 sized cardboard into 4

Make a hole in the middle of a cardboard and insert a chopstick through it.

Peg the chopstick with clothe peg as shown in the picture (please ignore the solution in it)

Dip the chopstick into sugar solution

Thereafter coat it with sugar (as seed starter for the crystal to attach to).

Submerge the chopstick coated with sugar into the jar (making sure that the stick does not touch the glass).

This is a clear sugar solution without any maple syrup favoring

Watch it grow in a couple of days... Record your observations from the start date to the end date in a journal (optional)

Mission accomplished... can't wait to see it grow tomorrow...

The next day... Day 1 - Evening

After 2 days or so, break the hard crust on top and take the chopstick out

Have fun observing it under a magnifying glass

Filter the sugar solution into a new jar to get rid of the loose crystals.

Soak the chopstick in the new filtered jar of sugar solution and continue to watch it grow.

The next day... Day 2 - Evening after changing glasses

13 August 2015 - 4th week...

22 August 2015 - After a month, we harvested our crystals today :-)

And turn them into candy lollipops :-)

Additional Information:

Our Little FECS (6Y4M15D) has been requesting me to grow crystals, after he saw it in the brochure that came with the mining crystal set, that I bought for him. I bought this:

and was searching on the internet on how to grow crystals, when I stumbled upon this Youtube tutorial about growing crystals from sugar https://youtu.be/GdH577EJdtc. It is free, easy to do and a safe experiment to conduct, and with loads of fun. Finally today, I was able to devote some time today, and we are growing crystals from sugar... turning them into homemade lollipops :-) He wanted to make all different colors and so here we are trying out 5 different colors. He had a lot of fun doing this experiment and also looking forward to eating the lollipops :-)

It will be exciting to watch it grow and to see how they turn out. We intend to read a book about crystals.

Here are some links on how crystals are formed:

http://www.iycr2014.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/85457/CG_brochure.pdf
http://www.sciencekidsathome.com/science_topics/what_are_crystals.html

http://w ww.hom etrainingtools.com/a/learn-about-crystals

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geology/how-are-crystals-made.htm

https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/rock-pop.html

http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-crystals/

http://kitchenscience.sci-toys.com/solutions

https://www.craftybaking.com/learn/baked-goods/candy/preparation-method
https://acsundergrad.wordpress.com/2013/01/02/making-rock-candy-a-supersaturated-treat/
https://scienceandfooducla.wordpress.com/2014/10/28/sugar-chemistry-of-hard-candies/
http://chemistry.about.com/od/growingcrystals/a/sugarcrystals.htm
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1989/6/89.06.04.x.html

http://nobel.scas.bcit.ca/debeck_pt/science/crystals/crystals_p1.htm

http://www.chemistry.co.nz/crystals_forming.htm

http://www.mnh.si.edu/earth/text/2_2_2_2.html

http://www.pa.msu.edu/sciencet/ask_st/072094.html