Borax Crystal Ornaments

Adult supervision: choking hazards, hot water
Please read the procedure before beginning! After reading, please watch the video. Some activities require more time and cleanup than others. You also have the choice of performing these activities in a way that suits your needs.

Materials

  • Glass Jar
  • Warm or hot water (not included)
  • Tablespoon
  • Borax
  • 2 vials of food coloring
  • Pipe cleaners
  • 2 Pencils
  • 2 Tongue depressors

Procedure

  1. Choose a pipe cleaner and form it into a shape. This will be the body of the ornament where the crystals will grow. Ensure that it is small enough that it will be able to hang in the jar without touching the sides.
  2. Use another pipe cleaner to create a hook and hang the ornament from the center of the pencil. The pencil will be placed across the opening of the jar so that the ornament can hang inside the jar.
  3. Place the jar in a relatively cool place where it will not be disturbed. With the help of an adult, fill the jar with boiling water or very hot water from the sink—boiling water works best, but hot sink water works as well.
  4. Add 4 tablespoons of borax and stir with the tongue depressor until it is dissolved in the water.
  5. Optional: add a vial of food coloring to create tinted crystals.
  6. Place the pencil across the top of the jar with the ornament hanging in the solution. Leave for a minimum of 4 hours, up to 24 hours. More time will allow for larger crystals to form. Do not disturb the jar during this time.
  7. When 4 to 24 hours have passed, lift the pencil to remove the ornament from the jar, and gently place it on a towel or counter to dry.
  8. When the ornament has dried, remove the pencil. The ornament is ready to hang!
  9. Empty the jar, and repeat steps 1-8 to create another ornament. Experiment with the amount of borax, the temperature of water, the time given for the crystals to form, etc. What can you infer?

 Science Behind it!

     While you are waiting for the crystals to grow, let’s talk about how and why they grow? Crystals are made up of tiny particles called atoms. When a crystal forms, this is called crystallization. Those atoms are arranged in a repeating pattern. Every crystal makes a different pattern. A snowflake is an example of a water crystal. Every snowflake is different, just like every crystal that you can grow in this experiment is different. Crystals often form when hot liquids cool and harden over time. They can also form when water evaporates from a mixture. What is left when the water is starting to evaporate from this mixture? The extra borax likes to settle where it finds a place that is uneven and not smooth. A supersaturated solution is a solution that contains more than the maximum amount of solute, that is capable of being dissolved. What would be the solute and what is the solution in this experiment? Experiment with the amount of borax and the temperature of the water. Have fun making predictions while you do this experiment as many times as you wish to.