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A fun kids science project! Learn how to grow borax crystals and why it works. Plus turn them into a fun Christmas craft too!
One of my favorite parts of school was always science class. It is great for kids to learn things, and experiment to see how things work first hand. Having something fun to show off at the end of an experiment is an added bonus. Learn how to grow borax crystals and the science behind why it works. This is so much fun, and you can take it a step further and create Borax Crystal ornaments with them too!

You Will Need

You will need the items above plus Borax and Water.

How to make Borax Crystals

Take your pipe cleaner and shape it into the shape you want your crystal to be. Choose the colors wisely because this color will show through and be the color of your crystal.

This is a great time to tie the string onto your pipe cleaner.

Heat your water to boiling. For every 1 cup of hot water you are going to dissolve 4 tablespoon of borax to create your crystal solution.

Fill your mason jar about ¾ of the way full of borax solution.

Tie your pipe cleaner string onto a popsicle stick or pencil so it is suspended in your solution. It is best to have it not touching any of the sides.

Allow your crystal experiment to sit for at least 12-24 hours. The longer it sits the bigger your crystals will be.

Borax Crystal Ornaments

Now that you know how to make Borax Crystals you can use the same method to create Borax Crystal Ornaments. Simply shape your pipe cleaners into stars, snowflakes, or any design you choose.

Tie and string to it and dangle it in the solution just as you did before.

Once your crystal ornaments are done you can hang them on your Christmas tree, give them as gifts, etc.

Science

Now that you are having fun, let's learn how it works.

Crystals can form when a supersaturated liquid that contains a dissolved mineral cools. In this activity, a supersaturated solution was made using hot water and borax (a soft crystal).

The hot water caused the water molecules to move further away from each other so that more of the borax could dissolve into the solution. Once the solution reaches a point where it cannot dissolve any more borax, it becomes supersaturated.

As the solution cools, the water molecules come closer together again causing the forming borax crystals to cling to the pipe cleaner.

Did you know?

Crystals are solids that are formed by a regular, repeating pattern of molecules connected together. Most crystals come in geometric shapes with sharp, straight edges and smooth sides.

Salt crystals have a cubic shape while sugar crystals have a flattened rectangular shape. When a crystal breaks, it will break cleanly and smoothly into smaller versions of the same geometric shape.

Educational Talking Points

Want to do some research? Here are some key educational talking points that you could dive into with this experiment.

Solutions: Learn about saturation and what it means.

Hot & Cold: How the temperature of the water effects the dissolving and the quantity of borax it can hold.

Crystals: What type of molecules form crystals? Are they all the same shape?

Chemistry: What is the chemical makeup of these crystals. Does the solution change it from its original form?

These are only a few topics. This experiment is so much fun, it can really open the window to many discussions.

Preserving

Once your crystals are done you want to keep them so that they last. To help your crystals stand the test of time spray them with a clear acrylic spray. This can be found at any local hardware store.

Recipe

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How to Grow Borax Crystals - Kids Science Project

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A fun kids science project! Learn how to grow borax crystals and why it works. Plus turn them into a fun Christmas craft too! One of my favorite parts of school was always science class. It is great for kids to learn things, and experiment to see how things work first hand.

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