This Easter craft from TV crafter Jim "Figgy" Noonan doubles as a science project, offering an opportunity to show kids the crystallization process at work. To make a fluorescent variation for Halloween, substitute the water and egg dye solution with Glow Water.
Tools and Materials
Blown-out eggshell (Get the How-To)
Alum powder
White glue
Small paintbrush
Plastic or glass container
Egg dye
Hot water
Craft stick or spoon
Latex gloves
Drying rack or newspaper
Crystal Egg Geode How-To
1. Start by blowing out a large white chicken egg (Get the How-To) and splitting it in half, lengthwise. The egg can be cracked by striking it against a surface or cut with a small pair of scissors. Make sure the inside of the eggshell is clean and dry.
2. With a small paintbrush, apply white glue to the inside and cracked edges of each half of the eggshell and sprinkle with alum powder until completely coated. Set eggshell halves aside to dry overnight.
3. The next day, prepare your growing solution in a glass or plastic container by using a craft stick or spoon to mix 2 cups of very hot water (almost boiling) with an entire packet of powdered egg dye. Be sure to wear latex gloves to protect your hands from the dye. (Tip: Liquid food coloring can also be used to dye the geode -- 30 to 40 drops will adequately saturate the solution.)
4. Add 3/4 cup of alum powder to the hot dye bath and stir until completely dissolved. If there are remaining crystals in the bottom of the container, place the solution in the microwave for a few minutes to dissolve them. This will prevent alum from being drawn away from the geode.
5. Once the alum is completely dissolved, let the solution cool slightly (for about 30 minutes) and then submerge one of the dried, alum-coated eggshells in the growing solution, allowing it to rest on the bottom of the container with the inside of the shell facing up.
6. Set the container aside in a safe place overnight to allow the crystals to grow undisturbed. (Tip: The longer the eggshell is in the solution, the larger the crystals in the geode will be. Twelve to 15 hours will usually result in a perfect geode.)
7. The next day, remove the geode from the growing solution very carefully (as wet crystals are quite fragile), being sure to wear latex gloves to prevent the dye from staining your hands. (Tip: If you are not satisfied with the size of your geode crystals, return the geode to the growing solution and wait a day or two. As water evaporates from the solution, more alum will be deposited in your geode, increasing the size of the crystals.)
8. Place your geode on a drying rack or newspaper and allow to dry completely before handling.
9. To grow a second geode in the other half of the eggshell, simply re-dissolve the crystals remaining at the bottom of the growing solution in the microwave and follow the instructions above starting at step 5.
Additional Tips
Geodes can be grown without using egg dye. The resulting crystals are clear to milky white, like quartz.
While large chicken eggshells are suggested in this process, larger eggshells can be used. Simply increase the size of the plastic or glass container and double or triple the amounts of dye (1 packet), alum (3/4 part), and water (2 parts) used to create the growing solution.
Resources
If you don't want to blow your own egg or would like to try a larger eggshell, pre-blown shells are available from The Eggery Place. Alum is available at most grocery or drug stores but can also be purchased online from Talas. Powdered egg dye is available from Surma: The Ukranian Shop.
Ready-made Crystal Egg Geode kits available from Professor Figgy's Fabulous Science Kits at professorfiggy.com.
If I wanted to do this with an ostrich egg, what would the ratio of water to alum be?
Hi Figgy01,
Is it possible to use the same process on other surfaces such as glass, wood, metal etc. Also is there a way of stabilising the crystals. Was thinking of applying the process to jewellery pieces.
Many thanks
Be sure that the alum you purchase (such as from the source, Talas, that I mention) contains Potassium (i.e. Potassium Aluminum Sulfate). Without it, the crystals will not grow. Some store-bought alums do not contain this and may also contain fillers that would hinder crystal growth.
So...sprinkle the alum powder onto the wet glue? How thick of a coating of glue to you paint? Also where in the grocery store or pharmacy do you find the powder? One last thing- so if I buy the alum anywhere but Talsa, use 1 3/4 cup? Thanks!
As far as the gold/bronze sheen on the purple eggs...that is an expression of certain metals that are in the dye that are released when it mixes with the alum. These were present even on the egg that I made for Martha. There is no way to prevent that from happening.
When I mentioned 1 and 3/4 cups of alum, that was a mistake on my part. I meant to say 3/4 of a cup. That is how much I use with the alum I get from Talas. However, with store-bought alum, you want to create a saturated solution. This may take more alum than the 3/4 of a cup mentioned. Just keep adding until no more will dissolve in the hot water.
I"m pretty sure when I watched the episode that Professor Figgy said to add 1-3/4 cups of alum power to the dye solution. Here it says to only add 3/4 cup so maybe that's what's causing the issues.
Has anyone noticed the change in color of the egg/geo once it has dried?? Used the kit from Dr. Figgy and it worked great, beautiful purple color, but once it dried it now has a bronze/gold sheen to it. Any way to keep that from happening??
The Eggery Place also has the dyes. So save on shipping and get them both. Look under Pysanky for the dyes on their website.
Cleaning the egg as much as possible is always a good idea. However, the alum, being a salt that is also used in pickling and preserving is very good at preventing anything from growing, especially mold.
egg
Keeping the membrene on the egg may cause the membrane to mold causing the cystrals to turn black.
The crystals will form if the membrane is left on., But it is possible that the membrane will mold in time turning the crystals black.
For those of you who had difficulty, where did you get your alum? It is important to make sure that it is Potassium Aluminum Sulfate. The source provided above (Talas) is where we get our Alum here at Martha - and it is very reliable and reasonably priced. Also, it is not necessary to remove the membrane from the egg. The glue and the alum will penetrate that and anchor to the eggshell just fine.
Kadi2 thanks for your comment. I did remove the membrane and follow the directions via this page vs. the tv show. I also tried again letting the solution cool much longer than 30 min thinking that would help but it didn't.
On the video you didn't address the cleaning of the egg or letting the solution cool for about 30 minutes before adding the egg.
On the video you didn't adress the cleaning of the egg or letting the solution cool for about 30 minutes before adding the egg. People using only the video for instructions may be having problems. Also the membrane must removed.
MINE DID NOT WORK EITHER.....SOOOOOO A WASTE OF TIME....AND A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT...
My eggs didn't work. I left them in the solution for over 15 hours and nothing happened. I'm very disappointed. Does anyone have any ideas?
Found the dye at Surma: The Ukranian shop - order chemical analine dye, extremely intense shades.
liudahl - what kind of dye do you use and where can I puchase it?
OMG! can you do this on other surfaces, like glass? And can you make it more permanent by putting some sort of protective finish on it?
The process of crystallization does not involve any chemical reactions.