How Do You Make Easy Iodine Crystals?
Growing crystals can be a fun, educational experiment for both children and adults. Teachers can use this activity to help show students how crystals form in the earth, and parents can use it to help their children grow a virtually maintenance-free “crystal garden.” Either way, the results are pretty and worth maintaining. Many use sugar, alum or salt as a crystals-growing medium and simply dissolve them in water. Using an iodine solution, however, makes the crystals grow faster and turns them a pretty dark indigo or golden yellow color. Iodine crystals can also continue growing for longer than crystals made in simple water. Mix about 1/4 cup each of water and ammonia in a shallow plastic dish. Stir them carefully with a disposable spoon and fill the bottom of the container with broken up cork pieces. The cork will absorb the solution and provide a foundation for your crystals. Drip iodine over the cork just enough so that you can see the color on the cork. About four drops per piece s
