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Let's Go Rocking

Mineral ID

Collecting Tools

Cub Scouts

Webelosr

Boy Scouts

Rock Crafts

Growing Crystals

Girl Scouts

Fossils

Volcano

Rockhounding Arkansas

Pebble PupsChapter 12
kidExperiments in Growing Crystals

Gray-goose@webtv.net sent us some notes and pictures of his crystal growing:

Here's somthing I started a few days ago. What I have here is a aluminum dish and a green sponge. The sponge is sitting in a solution of

1/4 cup of liquid Cheer
1/4 cup of Ultra Joy (antiBacterial)
1/4 cup of salt
2 Tablespoon (15 ml) ammonia.

A sprinkle of Alum on one end of the green sponge. I started this experiment on 02/18/00 at 2230 hrs est. Waited. Nothing. On 02/20/00 at 1905 hrs est. I flip'd the green sponge over. Added a little Alum to one end of the sponge and added a 1/4 cup of Ultra Joy to the solution and a little more ammonia and waited. Exposed it to sunlight the next day for a few hours. (which is hard to do in New England in the winter) - The results are in the picture.

Growth after 1hr 27 mins of exposer to artificial light. 150 watt flood lamp, 110 VAC at approx. 8.5 cm from front of lamp to top of sponge. The aluminum got very warm at the end so I shut it off. The heat from the lamp I attribute caused this extra growth.

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