Borax Crystal Snowflake Ornaments – Kids Winter Blog Hop

What’s more fun than running outside in the snow, building snow forts, snowmen and the best sledding ramps down the driveway and into the street?How about trying to catch snowflakes on your tongue or gloved finger? The only downside is the snowflakes melt as fast as they fall. Especially when you bring them inside. Using a little kitchen chemistry science, you can make these classic snowflake ornaments and bring a little winter inside. The best part? This is a simple and easy activity. You don’t need a lot of science knowledge, materials or time.

Materials

• Pipe cleaners (white, if possible)
• String
• Wide-mouthed jar
• Borax (check your local grocer’s laundry section)
• A pencil
• Boiling water
• Food coloring (optional)
• Scissors
• Adult supervision

Instructions

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.
   
   

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil and pour into the jar. Add 3 tablespoons of borax per each cup of water a stir. It’s alright if some borax settles to the bottom of the jar.
4. If you want a colored snowflake, stir in some food coloring.
   
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. The next day, check out the gorgeous crystals! Untie the string from the pencil and you’ve got yourself a great holiday decoration.