Watching Water Freeze at the Exploratorium

One of the many interactive exhibits at the Exploratorium is one in which you can melt ice and watch it refreeze using a large magnifying glass. The task was to melt all the ice and then watch through the magnifying glass for one - two minutes. After one - two minutes had passed, ice crystals were supposed to suddenly spread from one side of the table to the other as the water froze. The first two times I tried this, I must have failed to melt all the ice, because I waited over three minutes before the water finally began to very slowly freeze. Though this experiment took so much longer than others I had tried, I learned from my failures, and the time I spent at this exhibit was very well spent. The third time I tried the experiment, I made sure to melt all the ice, and after 2 minutes and 12 seconds, ice crystals began rapidly spreading across the table. It was a beautiful sight to see and very much worth my time.

Video Credits: Adila Islam

(This video was shortened to a few seconds before the water began freezing)