October 9th, 2013 - Family Fun Time - Epsom Salt Crystals

Hello! As we learned previously, my small one is eager to 1) Do crafts, 2) Do science experiments, and 3) Make a mess.  So, when she asked to do something fun, I turned to my husband for an easy activity.  He’s a chemist and often has ideas on simple, fun experiments.  These often make for GREAT family time and learning time as we all explore new ideas, and often discuss the scientific theory - which is almost always free, or cheap, as we are usually using household things in these experiments.  

He offered up this idea: Epsom Salt Crystals.  This was simple and easy – and very hands on for my curious three year old (thought she is four now, and still enjoys it).  We took 1/4 cup of Epsom Salt and 1/2 cup of warm water and mixed the salt until it was completely dissolved. The we added a tablespoon or so of Epsom Salt until no more would dissolve.

I mixed it in a measure cup with a handle so I could just hand it off to my little lady.  The idea is that they take a paint brush and draw on glass.  When the water evaporates, it leaves crystals in its place.  First, we tried this on the sliding glass door – which sounds like a great idea, but since we were not able to suspend gravity at our home, the water just ran down the window.  It still dried crystals, but since we couldn't keep the liquid concentrated in one area, it was not the most spectacular display.  This is also part of the reason you keep adding salt until no more dissolves – the more salt you can pack in, the better the crystals.

Next, we decided to try painting something that was horizontal so the water wouldn't drip down.  Isabel hunted out her hand held mirror, and painted the heck out of it.  We waited for the water to evaporate – which took about five minutes, and talked about how water evaporates, and hypothesized what we thought would happen.  When the water had all evaporated, here’s what it looked like up close:

I have to be honest.  My husband assured me this would work, and it would look like frost.  I did not believe him, but in the end, we were sufficiently awed that it did indeed work, and it did look like frost.  Isabel thought it was wonderful that she could touch it and it wouldn’t melt.

This took a short amount of time – about 30 minutes for the whole endeavor, and Isabel was able to mix and paint herself.  The waiting was minimal, and easily consumed by curious conversation hypothesizing what would come next.  This could also be adapted for older kids, making a family night where you are drawing pictures, or being artistic in your own ways. 

Enjoy!

~Danielle