When the child has already matured, along with pride comes the realization that it is becoming increasingly difficult to interest, surprise and seriously carry him. However, there is a way that many people forget about, but such a pastime will be remembered for a lifetime. "What kind of game is this?" - the reader will ask. Nothing complicated and expensive, just show your child what crystal growing is. For children, this lesson will be a huge discovery. After all, this is the creation of amazing things with your own hands, which happens literally before your eyes!
What is a crystal?
The answer to this question is simple in the book version: this is the ordered structure of a solid. It seems to be nothing complicated, but it is much easier to understand the appearance of this miracle of nature from our own experience. Although in fact we see crystal growth every winter. For children there is nothing more interesting than how snowflakes appear and a beautiful pattern on the window. But in reality these are all crystals too! They appear with a gradual decrease in water temperature, moisture particles are attracted and form beautiful crystals. Upon reflection, the child will certainly be interested in where he can still see a similar phenomenon. Then salt and sugar will come to the rescue. Their small grains are also crystals. And my mother’s precious box, on which there are various stones. It doesn’t matter if artificial rhinestones or natural precious minerals. They will help to show the child all the perfection of the lines, as well as inspire to create such beauty. Moreover, equipment for growing crystals is in every home, and reagents - in the kitchen.
Is it impossible to grow a crystal at home?
Maybe! To do this, you need to prepare a container in which it is convenient to create a solution. It is best to use a saucepan or other metal utensil suitable for heating. You will also need an ordinary spoon for stirring the solution, a narrow deep container in which the crystals will grow at home. It can be a flask, a jar, a large glass or a transparent vase. In addition, you need to stock up on a piece of thread (kapron made of polyester) and a jumper-stick, on which the crystal will be suspended. For these purposes, a pencil or pen will do. The base of the crystal will be a ready-made small pebble, you need to worry about its presence in advance.
What can you create a crystal at home from?
The crystal can be grown from ordinary kitchen salt. This option is the simplest, does not require additional costs and time to go to the chemical store for the reagent. Growing crystals from copper sulfate requires the constant presence of parents; it is best to conduct such an experiment only under the guidance of adults. But the use of sugar syrup and growing crystals for children from this delicious product will be doubly enjoyable. Enough to admire the result, you can eat it and get to work again.
This is probably very difficult and long ....
There is nothing complicated in the process itself. Instructions for growing crystals consists of the following steps:
- preparation of equipment and reagents;
- creating a saturated saline solution;
- installing the base for the crystal in a container;
- creating a new solution and moving the finished crystal into it;
- enjoying the result of experience.
The basis of a beautiful crystal is the right composition for the solution!
To create a crystal clear as a tear, it is best to use distilled water. Its advantage is that under industrial conditions it is purified from impurities of salts that can disrupt the structure of the finished mineral. But even simple tap water will also work, it can first be cleaned with a household filter.
Salt in water dissolves in several passes. Heated water to 50 degrees and the constant maintenance of this temperature will greatly facilitate the process of dissolution of salt. After each addition of the reagent, let it stand for several minutes and then mix thoroughly. Salt should be added to the water until it stops dissolving and begins to settle at the bottom. Now salt water needs to be cleaned of particles of garbage and dirt that fall into the salt, for this it is enough to strain it through gauze or cotton cloth in a clean container, in which the crystal will grow.
Seed Bookmark
Growing crystals for children is interesting precisely by the process itself, so the next stage can be safely entrusted to a young chemist. For the base, you can take a beautiful pebble, rhinestone or just a large and even crystal of salt. The shape of the future mineral will depend on how to install it in saline. The seed laid on the bottom of the tank will grow upward, while its bottom will remain flat, and if suspended on a thread tied through a jumper and left in this position, it will attract salt particles from all sides - and the resulting a crystal can be unique and bizarre.
The container needs to be tightly covered and put in a dark place, best in a closet, for several days. Such a substance is very sensitive to drafts, vibrations and temperature changes, so it is important to ensure stable environmental performance.
Crystal in a couple of days
In just a few days, you can see the first results, the crystal will grow a little, but in order for this process to stop, you need to change the solution, because the old one already gave a significant part of the salt. The crystal must be given time to achieve substantial dimensions. Most often it is three to four weeks, but the result is worth it.
Copper sulfate crystals
If you wait so long for reluctance or want to try something new, you can try growing crystals from copper sulfate. Before starting work, you need to explain to the child that this substance is very toxic and you can work with it only with gloves, if the solution gets on the skin, mucous membrane or accidentally swallowed, it is urgent to take measures.
While water quality plays a mediocre role for crystals from sodium chloride, growing crystals from copper sulfate requires exclusively distilled water. Vitriol very easily and quickly reacts with other chemical elements, and tap water does not differ in perfect purity and transparency. You also need to thoroughly wash the container in which the composition will be stirred, and it is best to pour boiling water over it. This once again indicates that parents should engage in similar experiments with their child. All subsequent actions do not differ from the previous method, but the result will not be long in coming. The first grains are formed after a couple of hours.
Should I buy ready-made sets?
When there is no desire or opportunity to engage in the selection of containers and materials for the manufacture of natural beauties, you can always use ready-made sets. Moreover, you can buy a set for growing crystals in any department of children's toys, stationery or at specialized points of sale.
Such kits differ among themselves, primarily, the composition of the reagents and the seed. It is already enclosed in the set and can be not only in the form of a small stone, but also have the shape of a heart, animal, butterfly, flower or even a tree trunk. In the kits, all the necessary equipment for growing crystals is selected and invested, and colored additives mixed with sodium chloride or copper sulphate will help create a colored mineral, so that it will gain additional attractiveness.
Prices for sets are very affordable, it all depends on the level of complexity. The simplest one can be purchased for up to 300 rubles, samples for growing a large crystal of the correct form will cost more - from 500 to 800 rubles. A set for growing crystals can be a wonderful gift for any occasion, and if a child is engaged in such experiments with pleasure, then a large selection of sets will help create a unique collection of minerals that will decorate any home.
Chemical experiments are not only entertainment!
Today's children are sometimes difficult to distract from computer fun, and even more so to interest them in science. But, as practice shows, this state of affairs can and should be corrected by proposing a really worthwhile lesson. But what could be better than conducting a real chemical experiment? Crystal growth may be the first step to big discoveries!