Get two small baking trays. Put a layer of water in one and put it in the freezer. Leave the other tray at room temperature. You need a small pot, pure maple syrup, an aluminum baking sheet and a wooden spoon. Draw two lines down a sheet of paper so you have three equal-sized columns. Write "Warm" at the top of the second column and "Cold" at the top of the third column. Write "Time to First Crystal" about a quarter of the way down the first column and "Crystal Length" about halfway down the first column. Write "Additional Notes" about three-quarters down the first column.
To start the formation of the crystals, pour 4 tsp. of maple syrup into a pan and heat it on the stove until it boils. Stir the mixture often so it doesn't burn. Get the baking tray out of the freezer and cover the frozen water with the aluminum baking sheet. Check the syrup to see whether it has changed to a really thick consistency; if so, turn off the heat. Put a large spoonful of the mixture into the two trays; try to make sure the amount is equal. Put the tray with the frozen water into the fridge and leave the other tray at room temperature.
Make a note of the time you put the tray into the fridge, so you can record the time it takes for crystals to start forming. Every five minutes, check both trays. As soon as you see the maple syrup start to crystallize, write down how long it took. Continue to check the trays every five minutes. Measure the size of the crystals each time and write down the results. Do this until the maple syrup that's at room temperature has completely cooled. At this point, crystals have stopped forming.
Put the two trays together so you can compare the difference. Write your findings on the sheet of paper. You will find that the maple syrup in the fridge formed crystals quickly, while the syrup at room temperature took longer. However, the number of crystals formed in the fridge is far fewer than at room temperature. Also the size of the crystals is different. The ones at room temperature are much larger. This is because better crystals form when the process is very slow. The maple syrup cooled slowly at room temperature, but it cooled very quickly on the ice.