STEM Activity: Mini Sugar Crystal Sculptures

Crystals are an essential research tool and resource in materials science and design. Did you know there are scientists who dedicate their careers to studying crystals and their properties? Crystallographers research crystals to discover what they are made of, look carefully at how their particles are arranged and determine how their behaviors might produce new innovations.

You can explore crystallization by creating your own mini sculpture design and watch it transform into a dazzling, crystallized work of art. Get ready to mix science and art in this sweet, sparkly experiment!

Materials Needed

• Food coloring (optional)
• Granulated sugar
• Large heat-resistant glass or jar
• Large saucepan
• Measuring cup
• Parchment paper
• Pencil
• Pipe cleaners
• Plate
• Scissors
• Spoon
• Stove or hotplate
• String
• Water

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Add 3 cups of granulated sugar and 1 cup of water in a large saucepan. Stir to combine.  
    
2. With the help of a grown-up, heat the sugar-water solution on a stove or hotplate, stirring regularly with a spoon, until the sugar dissolves and the solution is boiling. Then, remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.  
    
3. While the solution cools, twist, bend and wrap your pipe cleaners to create a mini sculpture.  
   
   As you work, check that your mini sculpture can fit inside your glass or jar without touching the bottom or any of the sides. If your design doesn’t fit, consider trimming any long pieces with scissors or create a new one.  
    
4. After our mini sculpture is complete, cut a piece of string approximately the same length as the height of your glass or jar. Tie one end of the string to your sculpture and the other end to the middle of a pencil. Set it aside.  
    
5. Pour about ¼ cup of sugar on a plate and set it aside.  
    
6. Pour the warm sugar-water solution into the glass or jar, leaving an inch of space from the top of the glass.  
   
   Optional: For an extra visual pop of creativity, add a few drops of food coloring and stir to combine.  
    
7. Dip our pipe cleaner sculpture into the solution, making sure it is completely submerged and saturated. You may need to use a spoon to push it down into the solution. Then, remove it from the solution and set it on the plate.  
    
8. Use a spoon or your fingers to sprinkle sugar over your sculpture, coating all parts of it.  
    
9. Roll the pencil between your fingers to wind the attached string around it. Do this until there is approximately 1 inch of string between the pencil and your sugar-coated mini sculpture.  
    
10. Gently dip your mini sculpture back into the solution by slowly unrolling the string around the pencil to lower it. Be careful not to touch the sides or bottom of the jar! If needed, carefully push down on your sculpture with the tip of a spoon to submerge it.  
     
11. Once your mini sculpture is suspended in the solution — not touching the sides or bottom of the jar — roll up any excess string until the pencil rests across the top of the glass and the string is taut.  
     
12. Set your glass or jar aside in a safe, stable place for five to seven days. Check on your mini sculpture each day and observe how the crystals grow!  
    
    Important note: Sugar crystals are very delicate! Avoid moving your glass or jar while they are forming.  
     
13. After five to seven days, take a piece of parchment paper large enough for your sculpture to rest on and set it next to your glass or jar. Gently tap a spoon on the solid layer of sugar across the surface of the solution to break it up. Carefully remove your mini sculpture, set it on the parchment paper, and cut off the string. Leave it to dry for at least 30 minutes.  
     
14. Once dried, display your mini sugar crystal sculpture for family and friends to see!

What Are We Discovering?

Do you have a knack for spotting patterns? A crystal is a solid that forms when tiny particles arrange themselves in repeating patterns that create special shapes! When you heated and dissolved the sugar in water, you created a supersaturated solution — one that contains more dissolved sugar particles than water would normally hold at room temperature. As the solution cooled, the sugar particles separated out of the water and attached themselves to your mini sculpture, forming crystals!

Crystallographers use special tools, like X-rays and microscopes, to look deep inside crystals and identify which crystal system they belong to. By doing this kind of research, crystallographers can explore how materials function. They can even create new ones with special features that can be used to build new technologies. From lasers to optical devices, crystals inspire the designs of world-changing innovations.

Did you know that diamonds are actually crystals made of carbon atoms? In STEM fields, diamonds have a wide variety of applications beyond jewelry. Because diamonds are semiconductors, they can conduct or resist electricity under certain conditions and are found in many electronics across industries.

In the 2024 Collegiate Inventors Competition^® Graduate Runners-Up Zhuoran Han and Jaekwon Lee created a diamond-based technology called a Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch (PCSS), which could help power grids bounce back faster after outages. That means diamonds could reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and enable a broader adoption of renewable energy sources!

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