Borax Crystals
Making borax crystals is such a cool science experiment. It takes a bit of patience to let the crystals grow, but the results are amazing! Borax crystals are a great chemistry experiment showing the recrystallization process. Kids can see how molecules react to different temperatures, and literally see changes in matter as the crystals form. Try growing your own borax crystals in whatever shape or colour you like! These crystal gems are perfect for decoration or for placing in a treasure chest.
Check out our Borax Crystals video tutorial:
*Note: Scroll down for the step-by-step photo tutorial. Looking for more fun experiments? Here’s some of our favourites: Borax Crystal Ornaments How to Make a Lava Lamp How to Make Salt Crystals Egg in Vinegar Experiment
Here’s what you’ll need:
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Borax Pipe Cleaners Popsicle Sticks Mason Jar Thread
What is borax?
Borax is a naturally occurring compound made from boron, sodium, and oxygen. Borax is also known as sodium borate or sodium tetraborate. The borax we buy is the natural element, ground down into powder. Most people use borax as a “laundry booster” or as a household cleaner.
Where can I buy borax?
How do crystals form in borax?
Borax is a soft crystal mineral that is soluble, meaning that it can be dissolved in liquid (especially water). With this experiment we are dissolving as much borax as possible in the hot water, creating a “supersaturated solution”. Cold water doesn’t hold as much borax as hot water. So as the supersaturated borax and water solution cools down, the borax separates from the water and forms crystals on whatever is placed in the solution.
How do I make the crystals coloured?
Your borax crystals will technically be clear or translucent. But the crystals will look like they’re the same colour as the pipe cleaner they’re growing on. So if you use a purple pipe cleaner, your borax crystal will look purple. You can add food colouring to your borax solution to make the colour stronger, but we find that it really isn’t necessary since the pipe cleaner colours are already so bright.
Why didn’t my borax crystals grow properly?
If your crystals look a little “spotty” on the pipe cleaner or if you don’t have a lot of coverage, it means you didn’t dissolve enough borax into the water solution. We used less borax in our water mixture when we made our borax crystal star ornaments. They still worked wonderfully, but you could see fuzzy pipe cleaners in some places. To make the larger crystals you see in this post we needed a higher concentration of borax to completely cover the pipe cleaners – the full recipe is below. If you make shapes with more than 3 pipe cleaners try dissolving even more borax than the recipe asks for into your water solution.
Can I make borax crystals without pipe cleaners?
You can make borax crystals with anything dense enough to sink in the borax solution. You also want to use an item that has enough texture for the crystals to grow on. Try making borax crystals with different objects! You can use artificial flowers, pine cones, egg shells, or anything that will keep its shape and texture in hot water.
The clear acrylic spray will give the crystal a protective gloss finish that is moisture resistant. We haven’t tried this with our crystals, but it’s what others have recommended online. Learning how to make borax crystals is such a fun science activity! Try experimenting with different shapes and objects in the borax solution. You can even make Crystal Star Ornaments! Our book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids is loaded with 72 fun and simple craft ideas for kids! The projects are fun, easy and most importantly low-mess, so the clean up is simple!
Where to buy:
