[Nfb-krafters-korner] Borax Crystal Snowflake

[Annette Carr]

Here are the instructions for making crystal snowflakes that I used to make
with my daughter.  I had posted these direction to the list last year, but
thought since there are so many new members I would post it again.  The one
thing that is not in the below direction that we did is to spray the
finished snowflakes with some type of spray that seals and protects them.
Sorry I cannot remember what it is called.

 

Annette

 

Borax Crystal Snowflake

Found at URL:  http://britton.disted.camosun.bc.ca/snow/boraxsnowflake.html

 

Grow a snowflake in a jar!

  You will need: 

  

string 

wide mouth pint jar white pipe cleaners (we used whatever color we had)

blue food coloring (optional) 

boiling water (with adult help) 

borax (available at grocery stores in the laundry soap section, as 20 Mule
Team Borax Laundry Booster - NOT Boraxo soap) 

pencil 

 

Note:  Instead of the jar and pencil, I used a basin and clothes hangers
laying across the top of the basin so that we could make multiple snowflakes
at once.

 

Directions: 

With a little kitchen science you can create long lasting snowflakes as
sparkly as the real ones. Cut a white pipe cleaner into 3 equal sections.
Twist the sections together in the center so that you have a "six-sided"
star shape.   

Pipe cleaners and string form a snowflake base for the crystals to grow on. 

If your points are not even, trim the pipe-cleaner sections to the same
length. Now attach string along the outer edges to form a snowflake pattern.
Attach a piece of string to the top of one of the pipe cleaners and tie the
other end to a pencil (this is to hang it from). Fill a wide mouth jar with
boiling water. Mix borax into the water one tablespoon at a time. Use 3
tablespoons of borax per cup of water. Stir until dissolved, (don't worry if
there is powder settling on the bottom of the jar). If you want you can add
a little blue food coloring now to give the snowflake a bluish hue. Insert
your pipe cleaner snowflake into the jar so that the pencil is resting on
the lip of the jar and the snowflake is freely suspended in the borax
solution. Wait overnight and by morning the snowflake will be covered with
shiny crystals. Hang in a window as a sun-catcher or use as a winter time
decoration.  

  The Science Behind the Fun

Borax is an example of crystal - "a solid with flat sides and a symmetrical
shape because its molecules are arranged in a unique, repeating pattern." 

Every crystal has a repeating pattern based on its unique shape. They may be
big or little, but they all have the same "shape". Salt, sugar, and Epsom
salts are all examples of crystals. Salt crystals are always cube-shaped
while snow crystals form a six-sided structure.