I recently did this science experiment with the kids in my Cub Scout group. One of the Scientist badge activities is to have them grow crystals. I read a tutorial on Martha Stewart’s website showing how to grow a geode using egg shells. Their scientist used alum powder, which is easy to find at most grocery stores…but can get expensive if you’re planning to make a lot of eggs. You can get similar results for a lot less when you use the common household detergent, Borax, to grow a crystal geode.
This makes a fun learning activity around Easter time because so many of us have an abundance of egg shells! Don’t toss them out – use them to teach your kids a little about how crystals are formed. Growing a crystal egg geode at home is pretty cool any time of year.
Here’s what you’ll need to grow crystal geodes. And how to do it, of course!
- Egg Shells
- White glue
- Small paintbrush
- Borax
- Hot Water
- Food Coloring
- One jar per every egg shell
- PREP EGG SHELLS AHEAD OF TIME: You will need to prepare your egg shells by peeling off the inner membrane. Wash and dry the egg shells, then head to step 2.
- Use a small paintbrush to paint the egg shell inside and out with a layer of white glue. Allow to dry completely overnight.
- Prepare as much of the hot water/borax solution as needed for your jars. Use 3 Tablespoons of Borax for every 1 cup of boiling water. Stir until Borax is completely dissolved and pour into jars. I used about 1 cup per jar (use enough water to completely cover your egg shell in the following steps). Add a few drops of food coloring to each jar.
- Carefully place one egg shell per jar. Make sure the shell is submerged in the borax/water solution. Put the jars in a place where they will not be disturbed. Allow them to sit overnight. Crystals will begin forming as the solution cools.
- Remove egg shells from jars and allow to dry.
It took about an hour for me to be able to see the crystals beginning to form on the egg shells. The egg shells in my photos show crystal formation after 8 hours in the solution.
I found this Borax Crystals Science Experiment worksheet full of helpful information that explained the science behind the crystal formation. It’s from the Discovery Museum Science and Space Center at www.discovery.org
Have you ever grown borax crystals? Have you tried the alum crystal method? Let me know if you try to grow crystal geodes on egg shells! Feel free to leave photos on my Facebook page.
Suzie M says
very cool will try this when kids are a little older
Shannon says
These are so fun! Thank you for sharing this with us!
Tammy S says
This is so cool! My kids will love trying this. We go rock hunting all the time. So they have a good understanding of what a geode is. I can’t wait to try this. Thanks for sharing this project!
Rita Spratlen says
I have not tried this before but we did make crystals doing something when the kids were little. I forget what we did. We didn’t do anything with eggs. This sounds neat to do.
Kelly says
This is a neat experiment. I have a degree in a science related field and when I was in college (many years ago), it was expected that only men be in science coursework. I am glad that things have changed and this is a great way to get kids (girls too!!) involved in science.
Rosie says
My nephew had been living in an area that had many geodes, and I thought they were so cool. This is even more cool, that we can make them – what a perfect activity!!!
amanda012 says
cute idea!
Maryann D. says
This looks like so much fun. Very colorful and educational too.
amanda says
cool idea
Cindy B says
I had never heard of these before but my kids will absolutely find this SOOO COOL! Thanks for the information 😉
alicia k says
this is festive ANd educational!!
Julie Wood says
This is an awesome way to get my niece and nephew to do a great project when they come over and have fun making these amazing crystal egg shell geodes. I will have to get the stuff and do it.
Jo-Ann Brightman says
I have never grown borax crystals and I think this is a great science project to teach kids and have fun too.
Ari T. says
Your egg geodes look so colorful and bright! This sounds like a great science, or just a great observational experiment! I’d love to see how those crystals form too! Plus, using the egg shells for this is a nice way to reuse them for a fun activity for kids! Since I’m curious, I’ll have to take a look at that worksheet to see why this works! Thanks for sharing.
Sandra VanHoey says
What a neat idea and something else fun and educational for the kids to do, They turned out so pretty too