Borax Snowflake Crystal decorations

This is something we have made for the last three years at Christmas, initially we use a borax substitute, but the crystals are not as spectacular, so this year I ordered some bora from ebay.

Materials

Pipe cleaners

Borax or Borax substitute

Boiling Water

Blue food colouring

Jug or jar

You need to do is shape some decorations out of the pipe cleaners.  We make did snowflakes, hearts and christmas trees.

Then mix approximately 8 tablespoons of Borax with a pint of boiling water.  You want the borax to be past saturation point, so that it doesn't all dissolve   

We tied string to our pipe cleaner designs and then popped them on a pencil and balanced them over the jug  and submerged them overnight.

The next morning remove and allow to dry and then you will have sparking, crystallised decorations.

Now for the Science bit:

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 it's 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.  

How do the Borax crystals grow?

Hot water holds more borax crystals than cold water. That's because heated water molecules move farther apart, making room for more of the borax crystals to dissolve. 

When no more of the solution can be dissolved, you have reached saturation. As this solution cools, the water molecules move closer together again. Now there's less room for the solution to hold onto as much of the dissolved borax. Crystals begin to form and build on one another as the water lets go of the excess and evaporates.

This also applies to snowflakes - As water cools the molecules move closer together. Since all water molecules are shaped the same (H₂O) they align in a six sided crystal.