Snow Day Fun!

Looking for something to do on this snow day? (other than stompin' in snow and slush, of course!)
Here's a fun experiment!

We've learned about igneous rocks, the rocks that form when melted minerals cool down and harden. Volcanoes are awesome, however, not all igneous rocks are created with a dramatic display like Mount Saint Helens. Sometimes magma flows through cracks away from all the volcanic activity to another place underground where it cools down slowly inside the earth. Magma can also bubble up through a crack in the ocean floor and then cool down and solidify into rock under the sea.

Sugar on a Sheet

Grease a baking sheet and put it in the freezer to chill. Put 1/2 cup of sugar in a saucepan. With a grown-up's help, stir the sugar over medium heat. When it is completely melted, take the baking sheet out of the freezer and pour the melted sugar on it. Put the sheet back in the freezer. After a few minutes, take the sheet out and look at your sugar glass!

Sugar on a Stick

Mix 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water in a sauce pan. With a grown-up's help, stir the mixture over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When it starts to boil, stop stirring and let the mixture boil for 1 minute. Let it cool a little bit. Set a popsicle stick in a glass mason jar. Ask your grown-up helper to pour the syrup into the glass mason jar and place it where it can cool slowly. Check on it every few days.

After a couple days, examine your sugar stick. How does it compare with your sugar glass? How could you explain the different formations?  Leave your "sugar on a stick" for several more days, and soon you will have some rock candy to enjoy!