10

A burst of purple fog filled the room. As it cleared, a long lab table appeared in the center of the room. On the table were eggs and two tubs filled with clear liquid. One tub was labeled river water and the other filtered lab water. There was also a small bottle of green food coloring. Next to the table was a large square machine.

“The incubator!” hollered Violet.

“Oh! Like the one in the science museum,” said Daniel. “You know, where they keep the baby chickens.” Then he paused. “Wait, we aren’t hatching eggs, are we?”

“That could be EGG-citing!” Dr. Crisp laughed. “But not this time. We’ll be using our incredible incubator for this level to figure out how geodes form. And we should hustle. There are only twenty Maker Minutes before the portal closes!”

Pablo grabbed his cheeks. “Every time! This happens every time!”

“Don’t fret, space cadet! You all got this!” Dr. Crisp grabbed her backpack and pulled out the Maker Manual, then set it on the lab table. It opened to a page with a list of instructions. “Read these carefully and quickly!” Then she cupped her hands around her mouth and said, “Ready, set, SOLVE!”

The Makers huddled around the book.

Violet picked up an egg and noticed a hole in the top. She peeked inside. “They’re empty!” she said.

“It says we need to carefully fill one eggshell with river water and one with filtered water,” Pablo said, scanning the page with his eyes.

Daniel picked up an empty eggshell and dipped it in the river water tub. Violet dipped hers in the filtered lab water tub.

Pablo continued reading the instructions. “Okay, now we need to add a few drops of food coloring to each and put them in the incubator for five minutes to heat them up.”

“Five minutes!” Daniel and Violet repeated.

“We have time,” Pablo reassured his friends. “But hurry!”

After adding the food coloring and placing the eggs in the incubator, all the Makers could do was wait. And wait. And wait.

“I know I got to choose the level,” said Daniel, “but I’m not sure I would have chosen an egg experiment to learn about geodes.”

“The Maker Maze works in mysterious ways,” said Violet.

Ding!

The timer on the incubator rang. Violet opened it and pulled out the two eggs. She handed one to Daniel.

“Now we need to crack them open,” said Pablo.

Violet and Daniel both gently tapped their eggs on the side of the lab table.

“Mine doesn’t have anything inside. It’s just dyed green.” Violet held hers up.

“WOW!” cried Daniel. “Mine definitely has something inside.” Glimmering green crystals filled the empty eggshell. “It looks just like a geode!”

“Okay, only one egg made crystals and looked like a geode,” said Pablo. “How does that tell us how geodes form?”

“We filled the eggshells with water,” Violet began. “And we put them in the incubator. After the incubator heated up, the water evaporated. One had crystals on the inside and the other didn’t.”

“Geodes look like rocks on the outside, but they are hollow on the inside. They just have crystals,” Daniel explained. “And I think they are sedimentary rock.”

“Which means they form as sediment comes together,” added Pablo.

“Maybe a geode is made when water gets trapped inside sediment as it compacts,” suggested Violet. “I bet when the water evaporates, it leaves behind crystals!”

“That sounds right, but only one of our eggs had crystals in it,” said Pablo.

Violet bit her lip.

Just then, Dr. Crisp shouted from the corner of the room. “Attention, Makers!” She held up her watch. It was flashing purple!

“Oh no!” shouted Violet. “That means we only have three minutes!”

“Let’s think. And fast,” said Pablo.

Daniel’s eyes bounced between the two tubs of water. “I got it!” he said suddenly. “River water has minerals in it!”

Pablo and Violet stared at him.

“I don’t get it,” Pablo said finally.

“River water is full of different kinds of minerals. It’s not pure like filtered water. I think when the river water evaporated, the minerals formed crystals inside the egg!” Daniel explained.

“Oh wow! That makes total sense!” said Violet.

“That explains why there are no crystals in the other egg!” Pablo exclaimed.

“We did it!” the Makers shouted.

“Yes, you did!” cheered Dr. Crisp. “Now, let’s hope you make it out of here. One minute left!” She grabbed the Maker Manual and plopped her backpack on top of the lab table. It landed right on top of the eggshells. They shattered into tiny pieces.

“So sorry!” she shouted. “But no time to cry over cracked eggs!”

Dr. Crisp stuffed the golden book in her bag and darted out of door number eighteen, then down the never-ending hallway. Violet, Pablo, and Daniel sprinted behind.

They arrived at the main lab as the portal in the ceiling was shrinking.

“Ten seconds!” shouted Dr. Crisp.

The Makers were out of breath. They grabbed hands and leaped into the air with all their might.

“See you next time, Dr. Crisp!” shouted Pablo.

“I sure hope—” she replied. But her voice was cut off as the portal sealed shut.

Violet, Pablo, and Daniel tumbled through the magnifying glass onto the floor of the Science Space. They found their seats just as their classmates and Mr. Eng unfroze.

“Class, I really need you to be careful with the rocks.” Mr. Eng stared at the stones spread across the classroom floor. “Let’s make sure we aren’t throwing these. Someone could get seriously hurt.”

The classroom began to hum again with the sound of curious voices.

“That was a close one,” Pablo whispered to Violet and Daniel.

“It sure was,” Daniel replied.

“Have you three made any cool observations with your magnifying glasses?” Mr. Eng asked as he approached the trio.

“Well…,” Violet began.

“Mr. Eng, I think you have something in your hair.” Pablo pointed.

Mr. Eng ran his fingers through his hair. Little white chips fell on the table.

“Um…,” he said. “Thanks.” He turned and walked toward a different table.

“Are those…eggshells?” asked Daniel.

“This one is green on the inside,” said Pablo.

Violet picked up one of the white chips. “I’ve had a hunch for a long time that Mr. Eng has some EGG-splaining to do!”