Borax Magic Crystal Snowflake Christmas Tree Ornaments

Are you looking for a fun indoor activity that uses both creativity and science? Make these beautiful Crystal Snowflakes to decorate your tree using a little kitchen science.

1. Using a pair of scissors, cut a pipe cleaner into three equal sections.
2. Twist the three pipe cleaner sections together at their centers to form a six-sided snowflake. Don’t stress if the sides aren’t perfectly even, little imperfections make it beautiful.
3. Make sure that the shape can fit through the mouth of the wide-mouthed jar without having to squeeze through. If it can’t, trim the sides down.
4. Cut a 4″ length of string to one side of the snowflake. Tie the other end of the string to a pencil. You want the length of your string to be enough that the snowflake hangs into the jar but doesn’t touch the bottom. Once you have your length set, remove the apparatus from the jar.
5. Bring a pot of water to a boil and pour into the jar. Add 3 tablespoons of borax per each cup of water and stir. It’s all right if some borax settles to the bottom of the jar.
6. If you want a colored snowflake, stir in some food coloring.
7. Hang the pipe cleaner snowflake into the jar with the pencil resting on top of the jar. Make sure that you’ve added enough water to completely submerge the snowflake.
8. Put the jar somewhere where it is safe from being disturbed. Seriously! You don’t even want it to be bumped! Let it stay there overnight.
9. The next day, check out the gorgeous crystals! Untie the string from the pencil and you’ve got yourself a great holiday decoration.

For the complete experiment, material list and how it works, please visit the Crystal Snowflake experiment.