Hobbies And Interests
Grow Sugar Crystals
All you need to grow sugar crystals is water, granulated white sugar, yarn or cotton string, a pencil, cooking spoon, pot and stove, measuring spoons and cups, screw, tape, and glass jar (that holds about 14 ounces), according to Sciencekidsathome.com. Boil about 1 and 1/2 cups of water, and add about 3/4 cup of sugar to the water. Stir the solution well and pour it into the jar. Tie or tape the string to the middle of the pencil (while holding the pencil so that it is horizontal) and suspend the string from it. Tie a weight (such as a screw) to the bottom of the string so the string will hang straight. Then, submerge the string in the sugar-water solution and rest the pencil across the mouth of the jar. After doing this, you̵7;ll see sugar crystals grow slowly on the string in the next several days. You̵7;ll basically have your own sugar rock candy.
Grow Stalagmites and Stalactites
You also can use the same type of sugar solution to mimic growing stalactites and stalagmites. This time, you̵7;ll also need a piece of fabric, another glass jar and a saucer. Stalactites are mineral deposits in shapes similar to icicles that hang from the ceilings of caves, while stalagmites lie on the grounds of caves, according to Askdefine.com. To make these deposits, fill two jars with the sugar solution, and put a strip of fabric between the two jars with the ends in the solutions, according to ScienceProjectIdeas.com. The middle of the strip should be a little lower than the tops of the jars. Allow the sugar solution to drip from the middle of the strip into a saucer. By doing this, you will see a stalactite hang from the strip and a stalagmite start to form in the saucer. After the crystals have formed, put them in dry containers for safe keeping.
Go Beyond Plain White Sugar
Besides creating a solution with granulated white sugar, try creating the same type of solution using brown sugar and powdered sugar this time. Put 1 pound of powdered sugar with 1 cup of boiling water in its own jar, and mix 1 and 3/4 cups of brown sugar with 1 cup of boiling water in another jar, according to ThinkQuest.org. After allowing crystals to grow on suspended strings in the jars, compare the results of the two new sugar solutions with each other and with the initial white sugar solution. Use a ruler to measure the different sizes of crystals. This will help to determine which solution is most effective at making larger crystals versus smaller sugar crystals and how quickly they form for each type of sugar.