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How to Make a Crystal Garden in Water

Crystal gardens make a pretty, educational and fascinating project for anyone from older children to adults. These gardens grow from seed crystals in a mixture of water and other liquids. As the liquids evaporate, solid crystals fuse together into pretty formations. You can use crystal gardens as an educational science project for your children or students, or simply try your hand at creating gardens of different colors and sizes. Many items needed for crystal gardens are common household materials, making this project inexpensive as well as easy. Once your crystal garden is sown, all you need is patience.

Things You'll Need

Alum, salt or sugar
Ammonia
Water
Laundry bluing
Cork or broken terra cotta pieces
Food coloring (optional)
Shallow glass or plastic dish (about pint-sized)
Eye dropper

Instructions

- 1
  Fill your dish about a quarter full of water and another quarter full of ammonia. Add two tsp. of laundry bluing and two tsp. of salt, sugar or alum. All of these items should be available at your local grocery store for a few dollars.
- 2
  Stir the mixture together thoroughly until the salt, sugar or alum dissolves and the bluing creates a thick sort of sludge. Place your broken terra cotta or cork pieces into the mixture, rolling them with a spoon to coat them completely. Sprinkle them with a little more salt, sugar or alum, and drip about three drops of the desired food coloring onto each.
- 3
  Let the mixture sit overnight. The next morning, small crystals should be forming. Add another small spoonful of your desired powder (salt, sugar or alum) to each cork or terra cotta piece to keep the crystals growing.
- 4
  Make your garden last by adding a mixture of equal parts water and ammonia whenever the liquid in the dish dissolves. Pour it into the base of the dish; pouring it onto the crystals will dissolve them. Sprinkle your desired powder onto the crystals whenever you add liquid.

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