Growing Rock Candy

You'll need:

• glass jar or drinking glass
• piece of cotton string
• pencil or stick
• paper clip
• 240 ml (1 cup) of water
• 480 ml (2 cups) of sugar
• additional sugar

1. Boil the water, then dissolve two cups of sugar into it. For bigger crystals, boil the sugar-water solution again, dissolving as much additional sugar as you can.
2. Tie a short piece of cotton string to the middle of the pencil or stick.
3. Attach a paper clip to the end of the string as a weight.
4. Moisten the string lightly, and roll it in a bit of sugar. This provides "seeds" to help crystals start growing.
5. Place the pencil or stick over the top of the glass or jar with the string hanging down inside.
6. Pour the cooled sugar-water solution into the prepared glass or jar and wait. Depending on how much sugar you were able to dissolve into the water, you should start to see crystals growing in a few hours to a few days.

Be patient – it can take up to a week!