Crystal growing kits are an exciting way for both kids and adults to explore the fascinating world of chemistry and mineralogy. With a crystal growing kit, you can grow beautiful and unique crystals at home through a simple process using everyday materials.
In this comprehensive beginner’s guide, you’ll discover the many benefits of crystal growing kits, learn the science behind crystal formation, explore different types of kits, and much more. By the end, you’ll have all the knowledge you need to start growing your own gorgeous crystals!
What Are Crystal Growing Kits?
A crystal growing kit contains all the materials and instructions necessary to grow crystals at home. The kits utilize a technique called crystallization or recrystallization, which relies on chemical solutions and evaporation to produce solid crystals.
Most kits include:
- A crystal growth solution – this is a saturated liquid solution containing dissolved mineral compounds. Common chemicals used are sodium chloride, alum powder, borax, or epsom salt.
- A seed crystal – small samples that provide a foundation for crystals to grow on.
- Containers to hold the solution. Glass jars and vials are typical.
- Materials like string, rocks, or sticks to suspend or anchor seed crystals.
The basic steps are:
- Heat the crystal growth solution to fully dissolve the compounds.
- Place the seed crystal in the container and pour in the solution.
- Allow the solution to cool down and crystallization to occur as the liquid evaporates.
- Crystals will form on and around the seed crystal.
Kits often produce crystals in different colors, shapes, and sizes based on factors like the chemical composition, temperature, evaporation rate, and whether dye is added. The most common crystals grown are sodium chloride (table salt), alum (aluminum sulfate), and borax.
A Brief History of Crystal Growing Kits
The origins of crystal growing kits can be traced back to the aluminium industry in the late 19th century. Workers extracting aluminium oxide noticed beautiful bluish-purple crystals forming in the equipment and began collecting them.
By the 1930s, chemistry sets featuring materials to grow crystals at home became popular educational toys. With the rise of science fairs in the 1950s and 1960s, crystal growing became a standard experiment for students to undertake.
Modern crystal growing kits tapped into the educational market and became widely available in stores during the 1970s. Additional chemicals and dyes were introduced to produce unique and vibrant crystal formations. Advanced techniques like hydroponics arose to yield large showpiece crystals.
Today, crystal growing kits remain a staple science education product. They teach basic chemistry concepts and encourage scientific curiosity in an accessible, engaging format for children and adults alike.
The Benefits of Growing Crystals at Home
Growing crystals with a science kit offers many rewarding benefits:
Hands-On Learning Opportunities
Crystal growing allows for direct STEM education in science, technology, engineering and math. The process encourages active scientific experimentation using chemical solutions and developing scientific knowledge through firsthand observation. Kids can participate in a fun home science project and also prepare for science fairs by documenting their crystal growing.
Understand Scientific Concepts
By working through the crystallization process step-by-step, important scientific principles like solubility, saturation, evaporation, and molecular structure become clearer. You’ll gain better insight into geology and mineralogy by studying crystal formation in action.
Observation and Analysis
Careful scientific observation during crystal growth reveals fascinating chemical and physical properties. You can monitor factors like solution temperature, humidity, evaporation rate, crystal size, crystal growth rate, and purity. Keeping a journal aids in scientific discovery and allows you to control variables in future experiments.
Safe and Educational Activity
Quality crystal growing kits utilize nontoxic chemicals that are safe to handle at home. With parental supervision, it provides an enriching, hands-on learning experience for children. The process instills scientific curiosity and critical thinking skills.
Unique Crystals to Appreciate and Share
The crystals you grow will be uniquely yours. It’s exciting to extract them at the end and admire their special shapes and colors. They make great gifts or can be displayed in your home. Photographing the crystals helps scientifically document the results.
Affordable and Enjoyable Hobby
Crystal growing kits are an inexpensive DIY project to undertake. The process is fairly easy and magical to watch. Once you have supplies, growing additional crystals over time provides a rewarding, educational hobby for all ages to delight in.
The Scientific Concepts Behind Crystal Formation
Understanding some basic scientific concepts will give you greater appreciation of the crystal creation process and improve your results.
Crystal Structure
Crystal structure refers to the orderly geometric arrangement of molecules in a crystal. Many common crystals form cubic structures as the component particles stack neatly together. However, more complex molecular configurations result in diverse crystal structures.
Crystallography is the scientific study of crystal structure based on the shape, size, lattice, and angles between faces. The natural flat faces that form as crystals grow offer clues into their internal structure.
Mineralogy
Crystallization occurs naturally in geological settings deep underground, producing mineral crystals over long timescales. Mineralogy is the branch of geology that studies mineral formation and properties. Growing crystals in kits mimics these natural mineral processes.
Chemistry
The field of chemistry explains crystallization from a molecular perspective. Dissolving a material in water breaks the bonds between its component molecules or ions. As water evaporates, these particles reconnect in an orderly lattice that becomes a solid crystal.
Adding heat provides the energy needed to fully dissociate and dissolve compounds in water. Allowing the solution to cool supersaturates it so that recrystallization occurs around seed crystals. Impurities or dyes alter chemical behavior.
Physics
Physics governs factors like solubility, saturation, evaporation, and molecular interactions that drive crystallization. The crystal’s internal order and external faceting are physical manifestations of molecules arranging into their lowest energy state. Material properties like thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity also depend on crystal physics.
Step-By-Step Instructions for Growing Crystals
Growing your own crystals is easy, fun, and rewarding using a quality crystal growing kit. Here are the basic steps:
Obtain a Kit
Kits are available at science education retailers, toy stores, and online marketplaces. Search for “crystal growing kit” or variations like “crystal growing lab”. Many kits are under $20. Look for one with good reviews and safe, nontoxic chemicals.
For beginners, a basic kit growing table salt or alum crystals is recommended. Advanced kits feature additional seed crystals, tools, and dyes. Consider your age level and scientific experience when selecting.
Assemble Materials
Carefully unpack all kit materials and review the instructions. Common items include:
- Crystal growth solution
- Seed crystals
- Glass jar or vial
- Wooden stick, pencil or string
- Food coloring (optional)
Make sure you have any other necessary household items like pots, water, and a stove or hot plate.
Grow Your Crystals
- Dissolve the crystal growth solution. For salt or alum, heat water and stir in the powder until fully dissolved. Allow it to cool slightly so it’s below boiling.
- Add food coloring (optional). Add a few drops of food coloring and stir to evenly distribute the color.
- Pour solution into jar. Carefully pour the solution into the glass container. Fill it about 3/4 full.
- Suspend seed crystal. Tie the string around the seed crystal and attach it to a pencil placed over the top of the jar. Alternatively, simply place the seed crystal in the bottom.
- Allow crystals to grow! Over the next few days, beautiful crystals will begin forming in the solution. Keep the jar undisturbed in a safe location while growth occurs.
- Remove crystals. When growth is complete, use tongs to carefully extract your crystals. Rinse them with water and allow to dry fully before handling.
Tips and Troubleshooting
- Closely follow kit instructions to ensure proper chemical concentrations and processes are used.
- Use containers made of glass – plastic can introduce impurities.
- Avoid vibration or movement of containers while crystals are growing.
- Maintain a consistent warm temperature around 70-75°F.
- Prevent rapid evaporation by loosely capping containers.
- If crystals don’t form, try a new seed crystal or double check saturation levels.
- Imperfections mean the solution needs to be more pure and free of additives.
- Be patient! Some crystals may take a week or longer to fully form.
Types of Crystal Growing Kits
Many varieties of crystal growing kits are available. Some of the most common include:
Table Salt Crystals
Simple kits use table salt (sodium chloride) dissolved in water to produce cubic salt crystals. They grow quickly and are easy for beginners. Food coloring adds vibrant colors. Dangling string helps form large single crystals.
Table salt crystals growing on a string. Image byMpanda via Wikimedia Commons.
Alum Crystals
Alum powder (aluminum sulfate) forms beautiful translucent crystals with an octahedral shape. Small seed crystals are placed in a solution of alum dissolved in water. Alum crystallizes more slowly, producing sizable crystals.
Alum crystals of various sizes. Image by Didier Descouens via Wikimedia Commons.
Borax Crystals
Borax (sodium tetraborate) is another popular chemical for crystal growing. It forms white, porcelain-like cubic crystals in heated borax solution. The large crystals have a distinctive shape with a pyramidal termination.
Large single borax crystal. Image by Deglr6328 via Wikimedia Commons.
Epsom Salt Crystals
Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) crystallizes into long clear prisms or filament-shaped crystals. The needle-like formations grow outward in diverse directions from a seed crystal.
Epsom salt crystals with needle-like habit. Image by Robert Lavinsky via Wikimedia Commons.
More Crystal Types
- Potassium alum forms cubic crystals similar to table salt.
- Copper sulfate grows deep blue crystals.
- Urea creates thin, diamond-shaped plates.
- Rochelle salt produces calculated shapes depending on temperature.
- Ammonium chloride forms fern-like dendritic crystals.
Kits may contain additional seed crystal minerals like iron alum, chrome alum, and bismuth. Mixing multiple solutions together can yield unique multi-color crystals.
Crystal Growing Teaches Scientific Inquiry
The guided investigations using crystal growing kits are designed to teach more than just chemistry. They enable a range of scientific inquiry skills.
Discovery
Hands-on crystal growing allows scientific discovery. Students learn the excitement of directly observing crystals emerge over time. The random shapes and patterns prompt curiosity into how molecular structures govern geometry.
Asking Questions
Natural inquisitiveness about crystal formation leads to scientific questions. Why did that crystal grow so large? What determines the angles between faces? Questions drive deeper inquiry and scientific analysis.
Investigation
Crystal growing provides open-ended opportunities for scientific investigation. Learners can pursue their own interests by testing variables like temperature, vibration, container shape, or impurities.
Reasoning
Drawing conclusions about optimal crystal growing conditions involves scientific reasoning. Applying logic along with trial and error improves someone’s ability to rationalize the chemical processes involved.
Problem Solving
The scientific method offers an organized way to solve problems through hypothesis testing. If their crystals have defects, students methodically adjust parameters and take notes until achieving better results.
Data Analysis
Analyzing measurements about crystal size, pH, temperature, humidity, and other numerical variables over time constitutes scientific data analysis. Graphing the data helps identify trends.
Curiosity
An innate sense of curiosity about the natural world drives scientific exploration. Crystal growing taps into a learner’s fascination with rocks, minerals, and gemstones.
Collaboration
Scientific collaboration can occur by working in teams to grow crystals, sharing observations, and presenting findings. Communication strengthens the inquiry process.
In all these ways, the simple process of crystal growing promotes complex cognitive skills that form the basis of scientific thought and success in STEM disciplines.
Growing Your Knowledge of Crystals
I hope this guide has gotten you excited to start growing your own gorgeous crystals using a DIY kit!
Here are a few parting thoughts:
- Be safe – work slowly and carefully with adult supervision if needed.
- Follow kit instructions closely, but feel free to experiment and innovate too!
- Keep a journal of your crystal endeavors to maximize learning.
- Share your crystal pictures and discoveries with friends and family.
- Let your crystals spark a lifelong interest in science and the mysteries of the natural world!
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take for crystals to grow?
Crystal growth rates vary widely depending on the chemical solution. Sodium chloride crystals may fully form within a few hours while alum crystals can take 1-2 weeks to reach maximum size. Patience is key, so plan on waiting at least several days to allow the molecules time to align into an orderly crystal lattice. Maintain a consistent warm temperature around 70°F and avoid disturbing or moving the containers during the crystallization period.
What are the best chemicals for crystal growing?
The most common chemicals used in beginner crystal growing kits are table salt (sodium chloride), alum powder (aluminum sulfate), borax (sodium tetraborate), and Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate). These tend to produce the best results as they form stable crystalline structures and are relatively easy and safe to work with at home. Advanced kits may incorporate additional compounds like copper sulfate, urea, ammonium chloride, or potassium ferricyanide which require careful handling.
How do you make large crystals?
Slow evaporation is the key to growing large crystal specimens. Maintain a low evaporation rate by loosely capping containers, keeping them away from direct airflow, and holding at a stable warm temperature. Gently heating the solution helps dissolve more material so that extra molecules are available to add onto crystal faces. Suspending a single small seed crystal in solution versus placing many seeds helps concentrate growth. Lastly, avoid vibration or movement while crystals are forming.
What causes imperfections in crystal formation?
Defects like clouding, small size, grainy texture, or asymmetry in crystals can have several causes:
- Impure solution – contamination from hard water, plastics, dirt
- Incorrect saturation – too little or too much dissolved material
- Rapid growth – excessive evaporation or temperature shifts
- Excess movement – vibration or jostling of the container
- Poor seed crystals – using low quality or too many seeds
Avoid these pitfalls by carefully following kit instructions and controlling your crystal growing environment.
How can crystal growing teach children science?
Crystal growing provides a hands-on way to engage children in science inquiry and discovery. Making detailed observations each step allows them to think critically about chemical and physical changes. Keeping a journal improves documentation, data analysis, and experimental techniques. Identifying mistakes and optimizing the procedure utilizes the scientific method. And reflecting on crystal structures introduces important STEM concepts related to geometry, chemistry, physics, and engineering. With guidance, crystal growing fosters vital scientific curiosity and problem-solving skills.