By Sue Kiesewetter
Enquirer contributor

MASON - When Allison Crago poured the chemical solution into the empty bottle of Stewarts Cherries `n' Cream soda, she expected it to turn silver immediately.

But that didn't happen until the Mason High School junior swished the solution of silver nitrate, potassium hydroxide and concentrated ammonia in the dextrose-coated bottle for five minutes. And even then the neck of the bottle wasn't perfect.

"I thought that right when we poured it in, it would turn silver," said Allison, 16. "I think it looks cool and I'll probably just put it in my room as a decoration and to remember chemistry."

The experiment on Friday was part of the school's Charity Silver Bottle Lab project. For a $5 donation, chemistry students could create a shiny bottle by using a process similar to silver-plating a mirror.

Proceeds will be donated to St. Aloysius Orphanage, said chemistry teacher Chris Ennis.

"This lab is as much an art as it is science," Mr. Ennis said. "Household mirrors have been made using this process since 1835. Silver reflects the most light and cosmetically makes people look good." The experiment was the idea of teacher Aimee Brazil, who made the project available to students in all 12 chemistry classes..

LeAuna Sistrunk said she was surprised that the solution wasn't poured over the outside of the bottles.

"At first I thought we'd coat the outside, not the inside of the bottle," LeAuna said.

Theresa Pickering said she's going to keep her bottle "to prove to my friends I did something in chemistry."