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Making borax crystals is a fun science experiment or STEM craft for curious kids. If your kid is crystal-obsessed like mine was when we made this project it’s even better!
We first published these borax crystals in 2014 when my oldest daughter was 5. It’s been updated and reshared for today’s audience.
Important: This is a science experiment that needs to be done under adult supervision only. Borax is definitely not safe to use around kids who are likely to try tasting or putting it in their mouth. It can usually be found in the cleaning aisle at the Supermarket or at Bunnings if you live in Australia, or you can order it on Amazon.
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The slime craze has taken over the world with such a frenzy that it’s easy to forget that borax has another fun use in kid’s science experiments. That is making crystals, of course.
You can make these crystal ornaments for Christmas decorating (they’d made great icicles!) or just for fun at any time of year like we did.
Making borax crystals is a perfect weekend science experiment for kids because it’s really easy, plus the crystals are fast growing so we did not have to wait a long time to see the results of our project.
Not surprisingly, this was a HUGE hit with my 5 year old, and she was pretty excited at the prospect of taking some of the crystal ornaments in to school for news after we made them.
How to make borax crystals
You will need:
- Borax (we used a whole tub and made lots of ornaments in different colours, but you need not do as many)
- Pipe Cleaners
- String
- Craft sticks
- Jars or glasses
- Food colouring (optional)
- Boiling water
How To:
Bend pipe cleaners into different shapes, then tie them with string to the craft sticks.
We learned by experience that it’s important not to make the shapes too large if you are using mason jars because the rim is narrower than the jar itself, and you need to be able to get the crystals out once they have grown. A couple of our jars needed to be smashed to get the crystal out without breaking it.
Fill each jar with boiling water from the kettle and stir in 1/3 cup of Borax until it has all dissolved (an adult must do this step). Add a few drops of food colouring if desired.
Tie the pipe cleaner shapes on to the craft sticks with string and hang over the jar so the pipe cleaner shape is completely immersed in the solution. We managed to fit two pipe cleaner shapes on to each craft stick.
Leave on the shelf for several hours or overnight, until the solution has completely cooled down and crystals have formed on the pipe cleaner.
We made our jars in the morning at around 11:00am and by 3:00pm the crystals had formed, to the girls great excitement.
Allow them to dry on paper towel, then you can hang them as ornaments.
So pretty!
Borax crystal science experiment for kids
Materials
- Borax
- Pipe Cleaners
- String
- Craft sticks
- Jars or glasses
- Food colouring (optional)
- Boiling water
Tools
- scissors
- measuring cup
Instructions
1) Bend pipe cleaners into different shapes, then tie them with string to the craft sticks. Make sure the shapes are small enough to pull out of the jar withour bending plus a small amount of space either side for the crystals to grow
2) Fill each jar with boiling water from the kettle and stir in 1/3 cup of Borax until it has all dissolved. Add a few drops of food colouring if desired.
3) Tie the pipe cleaner shapes on to the craft sticks with string and hang over the jar so the pipe cleaner shape is completely immersed in the solution. You can add two to a stick if there is space
4) Leave on the shelf for several hours or overnight, until the solution has completely cooled down and crystals have formed on the pipe cleaner.
5) Take the crystal ornaments out and allow to drain on paper towel before hanging
More STEM craft ideas for kids
Make an iphone speaker from a paper roll and cup
These mini lid banjos make a soft strumming sound
Make a straw swing set or see saw for the toys to play on
Create a solar oven from a cardboard box
Make a balloon-powered sponge boat for the bath tub or for outdoor play
