Ice Art With Epsom
Salt
With a piece of dark construction
paper, some crayons, and an old-fashioned home remedy that should be in most
people's medicine cabinets, you can make a fun work of art that celebrates
winter and displays a little chemistry in a wacky way.
Most pharmacies and discount stories
should have a supply of Epsom Salt. A four-pound container should only cost a
dollar or two.
Epsom Salt is really magnesium sulfate,
a saline laxative that you can take as an over-the-counter medicine. It's a
natural salt that helps you . . . well, let's be polite and say "eliminate
waste." When you mix a few teaspoons in a cup of water, maybe with a little
lemon juice for "punch," it should help gently relieve mild constipation.
Epsom Salt is good for the body,
both through digestion and as a bath soak. Magnesium, the second-most abundant
element in human cells, is a key mineral. Because of mineral depletion in our
farm soils, though, often the foods we eat don't contain enough magnesium any
more. It's a sulfate because each Epsom Salt crystal contains sulfur, rather
than carbon. Chemically, it "wants" to re-group with carbon when given a
chance. That's why it helps your body remove wastes: it joins back up with
carbon, which is the main element in our food, and then they both leave the
body through the digestive tract. This remarkable product also lowers blood
pressure, prevents blood clots and all sorts of things.
But best of all, the tiny crystals
can help make an interesting art project. You can make it look like there's an
ice storm on your picture!
Simply color a picture on black or
dark blue construction paper, using crayons. You might like a winter scene
rather than a summer scene. You'll find out why! It's OK to use white crayon to
show a snowman, snow already on the ground, or whatever else you think you'd
see in a winter picture.
Then mix equal parts Epsom Salt and
water. For just one picture, mix one-fourth cup of each, in a shallow
container. Stir.
Now put your crayon picture on some
newspaper to catch spills. Use a broad brush, and brush the saltwater mixture
on top of your picture until it's thoroughly soaked.
If you have a place where you can
hang it to dry, perhaps with clothespins on a string over a drain, that'll help
make the "ice" appear more quickly. Otherwise, just leave it on the newspaper
to dry.
Check your picture every so often,
and watch the "ice" come out on top of the places where you didn't put any waxy
crayon. The salt won't stick to the wax, but when the water dries up, the
crystals remain on the paper. After a few hours or a day or so, the crystals
start displaying what looks like the cracks and branches of ice and snow over
your picture, especially if you hold it outside in the sun. It's the
crystalline structure of the Epsom Salts that does it, just like the
crystalline structure of snow makes sparkles in the sun.
You've made a winter wonderland on
paper - thanks to chemistry, and a humble but important household friend.
By Susan Darst Williams • www.GoBigEd.com • After School Treats 046 • © 2007
