[Rockhounds] Another preschool question

[Robyn Hawk]

>>>>Now for my next request. We want to give out something to each child so they can remember their visit. The kids will all be preschool age (3-5) and we worry about rock specimens as they will either be too small, thus can be swallowed, or to big, which could prove tempting as projectiles.<<<<
   
  Brett - if you have any friends with wood shop skills you might make wood models of the various crystal formations - they would be much like building blocks.
   
  ...they could also be done in styrofoam or polyfoam - about 4 inches - to big for ingestion!  :)
   
  OR - you could make crystal formations out of sugar that they can eat:
   
  Make Edible Sugar Crystals
Materials:
· Sugar
· Quart jar(very clean)
· Heat source

Procedures:
1.) Get a VERY CLEAN jar (this is important, or you will end up with a jar of sugar sludge).
  
2.) Bring a quart or so of water to a boil and dissolve as much sugar as you can. Pour this into the clean jar. Make absolutely sure you don't have any undisolved crystals of sugar in the jar!
  
3.) Tie a string to a pencil and hang the string into the jar with the pencil resting on the rim. You might want to put a piece of wax paper or something over the top of the jar to prevent evaporation.

What Will Happen?
As the sugar solution cools, it become super-saturated. The excess sugar will crystalize out on the string. Note that if the jar is scratched on the inside, or there are stray sugar crystals, they will form the nuclei for crystal formation and your crystals won't end up on the string where you want them.

   
  Robyn Hawk


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