Science Fun: How to Make Simple Salt Crystal Apples

“I’m bored, mom!”

“Mom, can I watch a movie?”

“Mom!”

This is the first year my preschooler and her older sister aren’t together during the day. And you know what that means, suddenly, I’m her only source of entertainment.

We’ve always tried to give our kids educational activities and STEM activities to try, but my youngest has missed out on a lot of the activities we’ve done in the past, because we mainly did them during nap time. But now that she is alone with me during the day, it’s her time to do all our favorite fall STEM activities, starting with one of our favorites, salt crystals.

These salt crystal apples were super fun to make, and kept my preschooler fully engaged for several days as we watched the crystals grow larger and larger every day.

Follow along to learn how to make your own salt crystal apples. This activity is perfect for toddlers, preschoolers, and older kids alike!

How to Make Simple Salt Crystal Apples

You’ll need just a few things to make this fun STEM project!

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Fill your jars with water and pour into a pot on the stove. Boil the water.
While you are waiting for the water to boil, form the apple shapes with your pipe cleaners. We made red with a brown stem and a green leaf.
Suspend your apples into each jar using a combination of plastic forks (you can use anything that is big enough to fit over the mouth of the jar) and additional pipe cleaners or string.
Once the water is boiling, add enough salt until crystals start to form on the surface of the water.
Pour the water into the jars.
Place in a sunny location and wait. We waited about 3-4 days for our crystals to form.
Pull the apples out of the water and let dry on a paper towel.
Examine the crystals with a magnifying glass!