Egg Geodes

This activity is ideal for elementary and middle school students!

This activity is a great way to introduce your student to chemical reactions and the properties of water! Create a solution using a common household cleaner, borax, and grow your own crystal geodes on eggshells! This activity requires adult supervision and assistance for handling of hot borax solution.

Materials:

* borax

* Glue

* jar (microwavable)

* eggs

* cups

* food coloring

* stick (for stirring)

* measuring cups

* brush

Directions: Start by preparing your borax solution. Add 4 tablespoons of borax and 1 cup of water to a jar. Microwave the solution in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval. Repeat four times or until borax is dissolved. Use caution, the mixture will be hot!

While your crystal solution is cooling down, start preparing the eggshells. Crack the top portion of each egg open and removed the insides to make egg cups. Rinse the eggshells clean. Pro tip: don't throw away the eggs, make something with them!

Brush some glue on the inside the eggshell, and then sprinkle borax inside the shell. Pour out any excess borax.

Next, wait for the glue to dry. The borax coating inside the egg will act as starting "seeds" for crystallizing the borax solution.

Fill a cup with crystal solution and add a few drops of food coloring. You'll need enough crystal solution in the glass to fully submerge the eggshell. If you have enough crystal solution, you can make multiple colors of crystal solution.

Once the eggshell is dry and the water is room temperature, gently lower it into the crystal solution.

Let it sit overnight or until your crystals have reached the size you want. If you want more crystals, you can mix up a new batch of the borax solution and drop the egg into the new solution

Once you are satisfied with the size of the crystals, carefully take out the shell and place on a paper towel to dry. When your egg geode is dry, you can put it on display!

Idea by: Kiwi Co