Before high school, I thought that all my science classes would be super productive and serious. Now that I'm a senior, it is the complete opposite. My AP Chemistry class took a break from the curriculum to have a crystal ornament contest. These ornaments are simple to make and can be super creative with the shape. This uses very common household items and can be done by any aged kid. My seventeen-year-old friends and I had the same fun as the five and six-year-olds doing this experiment.
This experiment uses borax and water to form crystals around pipe cleaners. Borax is used because of how well it crystallizes. Crystals are geometric rocks and minerals. They are classified as crystals because of the molecular structure of the mineral or rock. There are a lot of different kinds of crystals, which are classified by the way they form or the material.
Snowflakes are a classic example of the geometric pattern of crystals. They are formed with ice crystals, just like gemstones.
Crystals form because air evaporates in a solution, and the mineral atoms come close together. In this experiment, when you dissolve the borax in water, you are setting up this reaction by spacing them out in the water. As the water evaporates, the borax atoms move closer together. You can see this reaction with sugar and salt.
Materials
Borax from the grocery store
Pipe cleaners
Water
Twine
Tools
Wide-mouth jar
Pencil or stick
The Experiment
Bend a pipe cleaner to any shape you can imagine
Tie a piece of string around the pipe cleaner and around the pencil so it will hang in the jar without touching the bottom or sides.
ADULT SUPERVISION NEEDED for this step. Boil water in a pan and carefully have an adult pour it into the jar.
Dissolve a tablespoon of Borax from every cup of water you boil. Stir the water till the borax dissolves.
Put the glass in an area where it won't get knocked over.
Let the jar sit for four hours and watch it grow crystals.
Work Cited
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