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Background Information, Activity Setup:
Do real snowflakes melt too quickly? Grow a Borax crystal snowflake, color it blue if you like, and enjoy the sparkle all year long!
Step-by-Step Procedure:
1. Begin by placing a 300 mL beaker full of water on the hot plate. Heat the water to boiling as you prepare your snowflake.
2. The first step of making borax crystal snowflakes is to make the snowflake shape. Cut ½" a pipe cleaner into
three equal sections.
3. Twist the sections together at their centers to form a six-sided snowflake shape. Don't worry if an end isn't even,
just trim to get the desired shape. The snowflake should fit inside the cup.
4. Tie the string to the end of one of the snowflake arms. Tie the other end of the string to the pencil or candy cane. You want
the length to be such that the pencil/candy cane hangs the snowflake into the cup without touching the bottom.
5. Fill the Styrofoam cup with boiling water.
6. Add Borax one tablespoon at a time to the boiling water, stirring to dissolve after each addition. The amount used is
3 tablespoons Borax per cup of water. It is okay if some undissolved borax settles to the bottom of the jar.
7. If desired, you may tint the mixture with food color.
8. Hang the pipe cleaner snowflake into the cup so that the pencil/candy cane rests on top of the cup and the snowflake is
completely covered with liquid and hangs freely (not touching the bottom or sides of the cup).
9. Allow the cup to sit in an undisturbed location overnight.
10. Look at the pretty crystals! You can hang your snowflake as a decoration or in a window to catch the sunlight.
Expected Results:
Borax Snowflake Lab (continued)
Teaching Notes:
1. Borax is available at grocery stores in the laundry soap section, such as 20 Mule Team Borax Laundry Booster. NOTE: Do not
use Boraxo soap.
2. Since boiling water is used and because Borax isn't intended for eating, adult supervision is recommended for this project.
3. If you can't find Borax, you can use sugar or salt (may take longer to grow the crystals, so be patient). Add sugar or salt to the
boiling water until it stops dissolving. Ideally, you want no crystals at the bottom of the cup.
