Making Crystals

Choose your materials

• The key to making your own crystals is creating a fluid that can crystallize. You will do this by adding dry material such as sugar, table salt, Epsom salt, alum or baking soda to hot water. Different substances will produce different kinds of crystals, so choose whichever appeal to you. You can also add a few drops of food coloring to the solution to make more colorful crystals, or mix flavor extract with sugar if your goal is to create some tasty homemade rock candy. In addition to the ingredients for your crystals, you will need a pot or kettle to heat the water; a glass jar, shallow dish or small cups or bowls to hold the solution while your crystals grow, and (optionally) a string, a wooden popsicle stick or chopstick or some similar object on which the crystals can grow.

Prepare your solution

• Once you have everything at hand, making your crystal solution is easy. Simply heat some tap water nearly to the boiling point, then stir in your dry material. The goal is to saturate the liquid, so it helps to keep adding material until no more will dissolve. In general, 2 cups of water will accommodate roughly 4 cups of sugar, 1 2/3 cups of salt or Epsom salt, or a quarter-cup of baking soda. Once your solution is ready and cool enough to handle, pour it into a glass jar, shallow dish or several small cups or bowls.

  All that remains is to give the crystals something to attach to as they form. You can do this by tying a string to a pencil and dangling the string into the jar, or by placing a wooden popsicle stick or chopstick in a jar or dish. You can also simply allow the crystals to form along the bottom and sides of small cups or bowls, though this may make it harder to remove them intact. If you use a stick or string, you also have the option of growing "seed crystals." To do so, dip the string or stick in the solution and then set it on a plate and let it dry for a day or so. Tiny crystals should form, and you can then place the string or stick back into the solution and let nature take its course.

Watch and wait

• Next, you'll want to find a safe, stable place to store your jar, dish or other containers. Crystals take time to form, so choose a spot that isn't likely to be disturbed. Over the next five to seven days, the water will evaporate and crystals will form. When the water is all gone, you should have a nice collection of homemade crystals to enjoy.