The Magic Science is Flawed

Well clever old me I found a bargain in my local Pound shop (Science Worx - Crystal Magic Tree), and being an educating type of parent I decided to give it a bash. I'll admit I didn't have particularly high hopes, but the packaging looked as you would expect from a children's science project kit. 




I was pleasantly surprised at how interested the children actually were, I am blessed with generally quite un-inquisitive children. So we proceeded to unpack the simplistic box contents.



Two bits of tree shaped cardboard, with dye on the tips, a small plastic stand / tray and a bottle of solution.

Put the tree together in the stand and add the liquid into the base.

The liquid is a simple solution of water and salt, the theory being that the water is soaked up by the cardboard and when it evaporates the salt is left behind forming crystals. The dye on the tree tips allows the colour change.

After 2 hours the water is clearly moving up the tree.


By the next morning the salt crystals are starting to form at the bottom, and the water markings on the cardboard are distinct.







The next day the crystals are definitely evident, mainly at the bottom, but the water doesn't appear to be rising any further.

By three days the crystals are clearly visible from a distance, all the water has evaporated. Experiment over, disappointed children and a pretty poor showing. The water never reached the tips, so none of the expected coloured crystals appeared at all.




On the plus side, I have a cardboard tree with salt on it! If you feel that you can contain yourself no longer you can pop to Poundland or order from Amazon or The Works