Chemical garden a.k.a.

Magic rocks
To make your own you will need: beaker or some other glass
container, sodium silicate solution (Na 2SiO3), distilled or deionized
water, sands (optional), tweezers, couple of salts (see list below).
Make the garden by placing a thin layer of sand on the bottom of
a 250 mL beaker (or equivalent glass container). Add a mixture
consisting of 100 mL sodium silicate solution with 100 mL deionized
water.
Now your garden is ready for work, lets make crystals grow!
Remember! Some of the salts are irritant, so handle the salts using
tweezers! Do not touch with your hands!
Before growing the crystals in your garden it is good to practice
before in another beaker to see how the crystals will look!
Add crystals or chunks of the metal salts. Be careful and patient!
If you add too many rocks the solution will turn cloudy and
immediate sediments will occur. A slower growing rate will give you a
nicer chemical garden.
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White calcium chloride CaCl2

White lead(II) nitrate Pb(NO3)2
Purple manganese(II) chloride MnCl2
Blue copper(II) sulfate CuSO4
Red cobalt(II) chloride CoCl2
Orange iron(III) chloride FeCl3
Green nickel(II) nitrate NiNO3
Green iron(II) sulphate FeSO4
If you have any other salts available, test them and use them!

Chemical garden a.k.a. Magic rocks

Ilmrs Rikmanis, LU