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My Earth Science students are starting an unit on minerals. Typically, we grow crystals from a sodium chloride solution to make halite. This year I'm going to try something new. I found a resource on the Learning Center entitled "Grow Your Own Copper Deposit." We are going to start the activity today. I'm curious. Does anyone take the time to grow crystals in their classes? If you do, what have you used in the past? Do you have any suggestions that you would like to share with the forum?

Attachments

Grow Your Own Copper Deposit (Journal Article)

My students have completed the set-up for the Growing a Copper Deposit activity. I'm happy to report we already have several test tubes that have a copper deposit growing. This is so much faster than a typical crystal growing activity. I will try to post some pictures tomorrow.

Ruth, the Jason Project has a good resource for mineralogy that can be found at: http://www.jason.org/digital_library/10498.aspx There is a content page for students and also 2 different labs with worksheets included.

Hi Therese, Thank you for the links to the Jason Project. These are nice examples of two other types of crystal structures. For those interested, I'd like to give an update on our copper deposit activity. My students' individual deposits are growing well. We are seeing a lot of variation in the deposits. The students that have more room in their test tubes have more perfect crystal formations. The test tubes where space is limited have less defined crystals. This have been a great learning experience for them. I have also found this activity to form crystals much more quickly than other activities I have used in the past. I've attached a picture of my copper deposit. You can see the two types of crystals (dendritic and cubic) mentioned in the NSTA article. As a class, my students and I are now discussing how best to "mine" these deposits.

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Copper_Deposit_after_10_days.jpg (1.02 Mb)

Ruth, Thanks for posting your update. This is so interesting. Kendra

I have done crystals but using Borax and a supersaturated water/borax solution. These cool over night and work better in the fast pace of my curriculum. You can use a nice shape made from pipe cleaners to "grow" the crystals on and students can make their own and take them home. I am still trying to perfect the method for fast vs slow cool to achieve different sized crystals.

Ruth, Thanks for posting the picture of your actual crystals. Your students must be so excited with their experience of growing these crystals!

D Ellis,

Thank you for posting your fantastic idea about using pipe cleaners to shape crystal growth. Do you 'hang' the pipe cleaners or 'lay' them in a dish? Does water temp make a difference? Will the crystals form in a 24 hour period?

I know....all of you are thinking I could easily test these variables at home during winter break...LOL...I want to have this crystal experience be successful! I've had similar experiences like Adah, success for the student is my goal during this experiment.

Looking forward to your insights, Alyce

Adah and Alyce, If you have tried a crystal growth activity with a supersaturated solution and have had problems, you ought to try growing a copper deposit. It is a cool lab so you do not have to heat solutions. The chemicals (copper sulfate and sodium chloride) are added one at a time so they form layers in a test tube. Water is added between each layer until the chemical is wet. (Distilled water is preferred, but you could also use tap water.) A piece of filter paper or coffee filter that is cut to the correct size of the test tube is added between each layer. If you do not have copper sulfate, you can find it at most pet stores, garden store, or a farm and home store. It is sold as an algicide. Of course, you can get sodium chloride (table salt) at any supermarket. Iron nails can be found at any hardware store. Most nails are coated so it is best to use steel wool or sandpaper to remove the coating. We had small crystals forming by the end of the class period. Let me know if you try it out.

In my quest to make the perfect crystal, I think I may have found a site that will help us all. Mrs. Stewart's Bluing has a crystal making kit that uses the bluing agent to aid in the formation of salt crystals. They also provide a short scientific explanation.

I'm also attaching the start of a collection about crystals.

Let's try again since the collection didn't attach.

Crystal Structure Collection (4 items)

Science 101: What Is a Crystal?

- Journal Article

Identification of Minerals... There Has to Be a Better Way

- Journal Article

Teaching With Crystal Structures

- Journal Article

View All 4 Items

Hi everyone: I've not grown crystals with my third graders before, but it is on my agenda!! I would like to begin with sugar crystals. If anyone has any ideas or experiments third graders would enjoy, please share. thanks nj

Hi Netosh -- I grow crystals with 3rd graders each year. I wish you luck with the sugar crystals - they are the one crystal I cannot get to work with my students! I have tried off ad on for a decade. I've had some success at home and once in an afterschool setting with a good kitchen. In the classroom they tend to be the ones that do not crystalize and form mold on the top of the solution. I love to do salt crystals and we do borax crystals as well. They work really well with the shaped pipecleaner idea Ruth mentioned earlier in this thread. I also set up a charcoal crystal garden for the classroom. My dad taught me how to do this when I was little and I love passing this along to my students each year.

Netosh wrote 'Hi everyone: I've not grown crystals with my third graders before, but it is on my agenda!! I would like to begin with sugar crystals. If anyone has any ideas or experiments third graders would enjoy, please share. thanks nj'

Hi Netosh,
I found just the resource for you in the Learning Center. It is geared for elementary school students. I've attached a copy of the resource. It has students compare salt and sugar crystals.

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Comparing Crystals (Journal Article)

I have tried but have not had success growing crystals in my class. One problem has been that they turn the Air Conditioner off at night. So I am not able to keep my crystals at a consistent temperature for 24 hours. Do you have a suggestion on how I may overcome this obstacle?

I have used fudge making to illustrate how temperature history impacts crystalization http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/fudge-story.html

Foe recipes for fudge and rock candy look here http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/recipe-rockcandy.html http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/recipe-fudge.html Here is some general information on sugar crystals http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/sugar.html

Pamela Thanks so much for the great websites :) Have you found a website or activity to be able to differentiate the different types of rocks? I am wondering if the lab/activity could be altered to show the different types of rocks and formation… Thanks Liz

I had one, but it has been a few years. Let me poke through the files when I have a moment

My students were engaged and entertained when we discovered the characteristics of
'Liquid Crystals'. The investigation is highlighted in the attached free journal article.

I love learning alongside my students! Alyce

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Lighten up your Lesson: Matter, optics, and bubbles (Journal Article)

The best and easiest crystals that I've grown are with epsom salt. All you do is make a concentrated solution and pour it into plates with back construction paper. It works great and is easy. You see crystals in only a few days.

These suggestions are great. I teach 5th grade rock cycles and haven't tried growing crystals yet. I think I'll try these ideas and see if they work. I think the Jason project looks the most promising for me to try. Are there other simple ways I could grow crystals?

Elizabeth I think you've gotten some good feedback on lab activiteis for identifying differnt types of rocks. I remember an activity we came up with while I was at NASA Goddard called "rock doctors" I believe, where we took play dough, and mixed in different size and color "beads" that were similar in color and shape to the same types of minerals scientists see for rock identification when they take "think slices". We "mixed" these in the correct proportions, such that when students would "cut" the play dough rocks in half, they could do a count and identification of the different types of minerals, fill in a chart of the relative percentage of one mineral to another and use these to identify the rocks, emulating the process of real scientists. At another level, students could even make the rocks themselves, determining the appropriate mix and type of different "beads" for the correct proportions of mineral concentrations. One idea anyway. Great discussion on crystal growth! When I taught physical science using the IPS Physical Science textbook, we looked at characteristic properties of matter, of which solubility--and growing crystals--were part of the curriculum. Supersaturated salt solutions always make cool cubes!

Netosh said, 'Hi everyone: I've not grown crystals with my third graders before, but it is on my agenda!! I would like to begin with sugar crystals. If anyone has any ideas or experiments third graders would enjoy, please share. thanks nj'
Netosh, I found another article in the Science and Children NSTA journal that may have some good ideas for you. It is written for K - 4 standards, so it should be grade appropriate for your use. The article is called, 'Crystal Clear Science'. Let me know if it is of any help.
Carolyn

Albert wrote, 'I remember an activity we came up with while I was at NASA Goddard called 'rock doctors' I believe, where we took play dough, and mixed in different size and color 'beads' that were similar in color and shape to the same types of minerals scientists see for rock identification when they take 'thin slices'.'

I really like this idea of students making their own thin slices of rock. This year I had my students look at thin sections from the website Rocks Under a Microscope. I believe I will also have them make their own thin sections next year.

I just found out that I am teaching 6th grade earth/space science this year and this discussion thread has given me some great ideas to use with minerals and crystals.

Dennis wrote, 'I just found out that I am teaching 6th grade earth/space science this year and this discussion thread has given me some great ideas to use with minerals and crystals'

Hi Dennis,
Congratulations! You should post pictures of your students' crystals when you get to that unit.

This year, in my Earth Science class, I am going to use the Growing a Copper Deposit activity again since it was so successful. I am also going to have my students grow crystals made from a supersaturated solution of sodium chloride and a supersaturated solution of calcium sulfate. I teach in Kansas. Near where I teach, we have large deposits of both halite and gypsum. These are mined and my students are very familiar with them. If you have minerals that are common to your area, it would be a wonderful extension to mention them in your class.

Hi Everyone! Wow - thanks for all the neat ideas - my own children have grown sugar crystals in the past (very yummy to eat) but I have not tried this with my Kindergartners... I think I'll try it this year. I definitely would rather do the sugar crystals - much more fun to "eat" the end product!

I have seen quite a few posts mentioning the copper mineral lab. I noticed in the journal that test tubes were used. Do you have to use test tubes? What about a glass jar? Thank you for any input.

Thank you for the great links on growing crystals and mineral discussions for the classroom. I appreciate all the resources.

Living in Hawaii, I have done the borax solution crystal growing with my inclusion students around December. My student shape the pipe cleaners into snowflakes and had success in growing the crystals. Blue pipe cleaners seems really nice with the clear crystals, but other students like choosing their favorite colors. It was nice to hang on a mini tree before they took it home.

Hi Judy - thanks for that post. How do you grow the borax crystals? Do you have any directions? It sounds like a wonderful scientific Christmas project!

http://britton.disted.camosun.bc.ca/snow/boraxsnowflake.html
I've used this website recipe with success. Just make sure the solution is supersaturated where there are some borax on the bottom despite stirring in the borax in hot water. If you google,under images, 'borax crystals', you can see some samples of what other people have done with their snowflake.

Thanks Judy for your post on how to make the crystals. This looks like a fun project to do with the students. This will help me to teach my students about crystals and different minerals. Hopefully I will have success teaching my class. Thanks for the ideas! Nohe

Hi - My science students tried making crystals with sugar and then salt. We started out with using the salt solution to "paint" their initial on black construction paper. The recipes always call for glass, but we used some plastic just to see what the difference would be. I wanted to do the copper crystals, but unable to find the copper sulfate ingredient. The kids had fun and are excited to see "crystals." I would like to try the borax crystals next!

Thanks for this great idea, I think that I am going to try this sometime this year, I think that my special education students would love to see this and can be a way for them to learn how to collect data as well.

Cheri wrote, 'I wanted to do the copper crystals, but unable to find the copper sulfate ingredient.'

Hi Cheri,

Copper sulfate is an algicide. It is used to keep algae from growing in pools. You can find copper sulfate at any pool supply store or at a home-garden center. You can also ask your high school chemistry teacher as it is a staple in any high school chemistry lab.

I hope you can find some. It was a really amazing lab. My Earth Science class is going to do this lab again this year. It really is a good simulation of how lots of things can form crystalline structures.

Thank you so much for the info. I will try your suggestion :) We did do the salt and the sugar crystal labs, but they didn't work out so well. I have been told the borax lab is quick and can come out good too. Thank you again!

Aloha Ruth~ One activity that I love doing with my students for cyrstals is the one that you use a pipe cleaner and borax. But yes, someone else mentioned, you would need to heat the water. I try to get this activity in during the holiday season then we hit our science, art and christmas gift projects all at the same time! The students make a cyrstal for themself and one for their family. One thing that I struggled with was using exactly the right amount of borax so that it is a transparent crystal and not an opaque one. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to regulate that?? Aloha Lia

Hi Lia, I have also done this experiment and really enjoyed it! And it's great that we can incoorporate not only science, but math, art and a holiday gift! One way to regualate the amount of borax can be to have the students use either a tea spoon or a measuringcup. They can also have small groups investigate what happens using too little borax (it won't crystalize and you will just have a pipe cleaner) using too much borax (it becomes opague). After students recognize the importance of the measure, they will hopefully be able to create an end product and a great gift!

There's a really good activity using sodium hydroxide, screen and cupric sulfate that shows how stalactites are formed. You fill a beaker with sodium hydroxide, bend a screen and let it hang in the solution. Put some cupric sulfate into the screen and in about 4 hours you'll see some stalactites forming.

Gerry wrote, 'There's a really good activity using sodium hydroxide, screen and cupric sulfate that shows how stalactites are formed. You fill a beaker with sodium hydroxide, bend a screen and let it hang in the solution. Put some cupric sulfate into the screen and in about 4 hours you'll see some stalactites forming.'

Hi Gerry,

What a great idea! Would you mind posting more detailed instructions including relative amounts/concentrations? What concentration or molarity of sodium hydroxide solution? What type of screen do you use? I could really see my earth science students enjoying this type of modeling exercise.

Thanks in advance, Ruth

Hello thread readers,

This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry will make us reconsider the definition of a crystal. Quasicrystals are intriguing substances to me. They are a very ordered structures, but they do not have the periodic repeats that traditional crystals do. Check it out: Israeli Scientist Wins Nobel Prize for Chemistry How might you use this new information in your classroom?

I remember when I was a kid, I bought this "grow your own rock candy mineral" kit. I believe you just pour the kit's contents into a cup, mix with white vinegar and voila! By the next day, I had my own rock candy that looked like minerals had formed. Maybe another great activity is making rock candy with your students? It's a great treat to give to them while showing them the texture and shape of the "rock".