Crystals

Grow your own crystals with these easy recipes. Learn about crystal structures and how crystals are classified.

Real snowflakes are beautiful, but melt quickly. Grow borax crystal snowflakes and enjoy them as sparkling ornaments or decorations year-round. The snowflakes are naturally clear or white, but you can tint them blue or any color you like. Borax Crystal Snowflake Materials Basically, you’re growing borax crystals over a snowflake […]

Make Borax Crystal Snowflakes

This entry was posted on October 13, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on October 21, 2018)

Bismuth crystals (Dschwen) — Bismuth crystals are one of the easiest and most beautiful metal crystals to grow. These crystals are known for their rainbow colors that are caused by the oxide layer that forms on the metal. Bismuth crystallizes into an intricate geometric “hopper” form. Bismuth Crystal Materials You only need a few […]

How to Grow Bismuth Crystals

This entry was posted on October 3, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on October 21, 2018)

Maple Syrup Crystals (Jody McIntyre) — Maple syrup crystals are sugar crystals grown from maple syrup. They have a more complex flavor than pure sugar crystals and may have a slight amber color. You can eat them as they are, use them as edible decorations, or use them to sweeten drinks. They are easy to grow. […]

Maple Syrup Crystals Recipe

This entry was posted on August 18, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on September 1, 2018)

It takes a lot of black dye to make solid black crystals. — Black crystals can look translucent, like black diamonds or smoky quartz, or opaque, like anthracite. You can take most crystal recipes and use them to grow black crystals. The Secret to Black Crystals While it’s easy to grow crystals in rainbow colors, black is a little trickier because a lot […]

How to Grow Black Crystals

This entry was posted on April 19, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on May 2, 2018)

Glow in the dark crystals are brightest if the crystals are clear rather than colored. — If you think regular crystals are boring, try growing glow in the dark crystals. These magical creations are easy to make, but you need to apply a bit of science to get them to work. Why Glow in the Dark Crystal Kits Don’t Work If you’ve purchased glow in the […]

How to Grow Glow in the Dark Crystals

This entry was posted on March 28, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on April 9, 2018)

Glowing Crystal Geode — It’s very easy to make a glow in the dark crystal geode. The ‘rock’ is a natural mineral (eggshell). You can use one of several common household chemicals to grow the crystals. The glow comes from paint, which you can get from a craft store. GLOW IN THE DARK GEODE […]

How to Make a Glow in the Dark Crystal Geode

This entry was posted on December 20, 2017 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on January 12, 2018)