Crystal garden. 
I made this small garden of bismuth crystals for the photo shoot for one of my Popular Science articles.  OK, so it's not as impressive as the one above, but I made it using the most simple possible procedure that anyone could duplicate with minimal practice.  All it takes is a pot of bismuth (about $20/pound), a stove to melt it on, and a cup to pour it out of after it's cooled a bit.  Read my article for more details. 
Source: Theodore Gray 
Contributor: Theodore Gray 
Acquired: 1 September, 2003 
Price: $5 
Size: 4" 
Purity: 99.99%
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