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Grow a dazzling, crystal-covered rainbow overnight using just a few simple household supplies. It's a sparkling chemistry experiment wrapped up in art and crafts!. You’ll come away from this activity with a vibrant decoration and newfound appreciation for the magic of mineral science!

Borax can irritate skin, especially with prolonged contact or for kids with eczema or sensitive skin. Want a borax-free version? Salt and baking soda grow crystals too, but they need different amounts and a lot more patience, so follow a recipe built for them rather than swapping them into this one. Either way, wash hands after handling the crystal and keep away from eyes and mouths.

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Gather your materials.

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Shape and tie pipe cleaners into a rainbow.

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Fill a jar with 3 cups of hot water.

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Pour in ½ cup of borax.

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Stir until dissolved.

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Use string to tie the rainbow to a pencil.

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Hang the rainbow in the water-borax solution and let it sit overnight.

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Pull out the now crystallized rainbow and let it dry.

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Once fully dry, see how your crystal rainbow came out!

When you mix borax into hot water, the heat causes the water molecules to spread out, allowing them to hold way more borax powder than cool water can. This creates a special solution called a "supersaturated solution." As the liquid cools overnight, the water molecules squeeze back together and can't hold all that extra borax anymore! The extra borax particles lock onto the fuzzy fibers of the pipe cleaners, stacking together in repeating patterns to form hard, shiny crystals.

rainbow pipe cleaners

hot water

Borax powder⚠️ See warning

spoon

string

pencil

Crystal Rainbow

Easter crafts

spring

egg projects

egg experiment

art-science projects

Have you ever grown your own crystal geodes? Try this egg experiment and grow your very own borax crystals in a shell! Experiment with different borax concentrations and see how big your egg geodes can grow.&nbsp;Discover everything that eggs have to offer with <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/eggsperiments-project-kit/2979" target="_self">Eggsperiments</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store">KiwiCo Store</a>! Use the scientific method with a series of egg-based experiments that explore chemistry, physics, and biology.

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Borax (sodium tetraborate) is a naturally-occurring mineral salt commonly used as a laundry booster or cleaner. As with any other cleaning product, it should be kept away from children not under direct supervision of an adult. Do not allow children to ingest Borax. If consumed, contact a poison control center immediately. Wash hands after play, as prolonged skin exposure may cause irritation.

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Start by preparing your borax solution. Add 4 tablespoons of borax and 1 cup of water to a jar. Microwave the solution in 30-second intervals, stirring after each internal. After about 2 1/2 minutes (or 5 intervals) the borax should be completely dissolved. You can always microwave the solution for a few more seconds or add a tablespoon of water, if the borax is not yet dissolved. &nbsp;

The jar and solution will be very hot. Be careful when taking it out of the microwave!

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While your crystal solution is cooling down, start preparing the eggshells. We cracked the top portion of the egg open and removed the egg to make little egg cups for our geodes.&nbsp;

You'll want to rinse out the inside of the egg to get rid of all the egg white.

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Brush some glue on the inside the eggshell, and then sprinkle borax inside the shell. Pour out any excess borax. Next, wait for the glue to dry. The borax coating inside the egg will act as starting "seeds" for crystallizing  the borax solution.

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Fill a cup with crystal solution and add a few drops of food coloring. You'll need enough crystal solution in the glass to fully submerge the eggshell. If you have enough crystal solution, you can make multiple colors of crystal solution. 

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Once the eggshell is dry and the water is room temperature, gently lower it into the crystal solution. Let it sit overnight or until your crystals have reached the size you want. If you want more crystals, you can mix up a new batch of the borax solution and drop the egg into the new solution.

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Once you are satisfied with the size of the crystals, carefully take out the shell and place on a paper towel to dry. When your egg geode is&nbsp;dry, you can put it on display to amaze your friends and family! 

borax

Glue

jar (microwavable)

eggs

cups

food coloring

stick (for stirring)

measuring cups

brush

Egg Geodes

peppermint

food play

food science

edible experiments

winter crafts

Christmas

This crystal chemistry experiment is not only fun to do, but is fun to eat as well! Learn how to make your own, edible peppermint sugar crystals, while learning about the science behind supersaturated liquids. Once you've mastered the basics, there are plenty of variations you can do to share with friends and family! See how we did it and check out the video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcS_zEnSJSY">here</a>!

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Pour 1 cup of water into your pot and bring it to a boil. Gradually add 2 cups of sugar to your pot, stirring continuously. Keep the mixture at a boil.

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Once all the sugar is dissolved, take your mixture off the heat and allow it to cool for a few minutes. Then pour the mixture into your mason jars.

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Add a small splash of peppermint extract to each of the jars.

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Add a few drops of food coloring to each jar and stir.

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Dip a lollipop or cake pop stick into each of the jars and then roll each one in sugar. 

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Suspend each stick in one of the jars using a clothespin. Make sure the sticks aren't touching the walls or the base of the jars. 

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Your crystals should start growing over the next couple of days. Once you're happy with the size of your crystals, remove them from their jars and let the excess liquid drip off. The top layer of the jar may get a bit crusty with excess crystals. You can break these off with a fork

Growing sugar crystals can be a bit tricky. If you aren't getting any crystals after a few days, try re-making the solution using a bit more sugar. If you're getting too many crystals, try using less.
Once you've found a formulation that works for you, there are many different variations you can do with this experiment. You can try different flavors like orange, vanilla, or maple, and you can also change the color.

What's going on?
You created the solution for growing your crystals by dissolving sugar into boiling water. Hot water can dissolve more sugar (and other materials) than cold water can. You can see this for yourself if you try to dissolve the same amount of sugar in the same amount of cold water. No matter how much you stir, you'll still have some sugar left at the bottom of the cup.
So, when the sugar-and-water solution to room cooled to room temperature, the water was holding onto more sugar than it can comfortably. This is called a supersaturated solution. This supersaturated sugar solution is great for growing crystals because the sugar wants to fall out of the water - it just needs a place to start.&nbsp;
That's what you did when you rolled the cake stick in sugar crystals and dipped it into the mixture. As the little bits of sugar in the solution encounter the sugar crystals, they start to fall out of the solution and stick to the crystals. Over time, more and more sugar lands on the crystals, growing to form the large sugar crystals you saw - and tasted!

sugar

water

peppermint extract

small mason jars

clothespins

lollipop sticks (or cake pop sticks)

measuring cup

stove

Peppermint Sugar Crystal Sticks

chemical reactions

Halloween

Ready to try some spooky science, we made some little Halloween crystals to decorate our home! The project takes some time but it was fascinating to grow crystals right in our kitchen! We also made a batch of ornaments to give our loved ones as gifts. Are you ready to grow some spooky homemade crystals?

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We started off making pumpkins and bats for our Halloween crystals, but if you have your own ornaments already made, skip to Step 15! To make a pumpkin, start by folding five pipe cleaners in half.

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Stack four pipe cleaners together, and orient the fifth pipe cleaner below the stack.

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With one twist, secure the fifth pipe cleaner at the center of the other four pipe cleaners.

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Take a new pipe cleaner and wrap it twice around the top of the bundle. 

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Twist the pipe cleaners to make pumpkin vines! 

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Using both hands, push the top and the bottom of the pumpkin towards each other to "puff" up the pumpkin. 

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To make a bat, start at the center of a pipe cleaner. Shape the pipe cleaner into bat ears, and twist the pipe cleaner a little below the ears to make the head. 

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Twist one side of the pipe cleaner that sticks out to make a full circle. 

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Twist the other side into a circle to finish off the body! 

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Take a new pipe cleaner and fold it in half around the "neck" of the bat. Twist the pipe cleaner to secure it on the bat. 

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Shape your pipe cleaner into wings and twist the ends closed. Cut off extra parts you don't need with your cutting pliers. 

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We made a pumpkin, bat, spider, and ghost! What kinds of Halloween decor will you make? Be creative with your pipe cleaners!

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Take your large container and set up your crystallizing station by taping skewers or chopsticks at the edge of the container.&nbsp;

Make sure there is enough space in between the skewers or chopsticks. When you hang your ornaments, it's best if the ornaments in one row don't touch the ones in the neighboring row.

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Use thin wire or string to suspend your ornaments on the skewers or chopsticks. Make sure there is enough space between the ornaments, so they don't touch each other or the container!&nbsp;

We taped the wire to make sure they stayed in place.

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Once you have your crystallizing station set up, prepare your borax and hot water solution. 

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To make your solution, mix 3 tablespoons of borax with 1 cup of hot water. You can microwave several cups of water (1 cup at a time) and pour it in a large bowl. For faster results, you can boil a huge pot of water. Then, mix the borax into the water until it dissolves. Pour your solution into the large container with your ornaments! Set your container aside, and let your solution sit for 24+ hours.

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You will start to see crystals forming after a few hours, but don't take your ornaments out just yet! Let your solution sit for a good 24 hours before you take the ornaments out!&nbsp;

What's going on?&nbsp;
In this project, you saw borax form crystals on a pipe cleaner. (The borax you started with was crystals as well, but the crystals you grew are much larger.)
When you mixed the solution with hot water, the borax crystals dissolved into the water. When you finished mixing, the water held as much borax as it could. However, hot water can hold more borax than cold water can, so as the water cools, there's less room for the borax. Plus, over time the water will evaporate or escape from the cup into the air. The borax doesn't evaporate, so the water in the cup has even less room to hold onto the borax.
Eventually, there's so little room left that the borax starts to un-mix from the water and land on the pipe cleaner. The borax grows together to form the crystals you saw. This is called crystallization.

pipe cleaner

cutting pliers

large container

large bowl (or pot)

skewers (or chopsticks)

string (or wire)

Tape

borax (available in the laundry section at the grocery store)

Summer Break

Halloween Crystals

science project

art project

Winter days can often be rainy and dreary, but when the sun does shine through the crisp air, it's breathtaking. This crystal suncatcher captures the winter sun so beautifully you'll want to hang them in every window and on every tree. 

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Carefully cut out the inner circle of one of your plastic covers (yogurt or Pringles lids work well!). Cut as close to the rim as possible. Throw away the rim, but keep the inner circle for later.

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In your second plastic cover, use a needle to carefully poke a hole in the rim. You can use a dull pencil or a pen to widen the hole. You will need to fit your string through the hole later. 

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Make your salt solution. You will need to use the same amounts of water and salt. For example, we used 1 cup of hot water and 1 cup of epsom salt. To heat our water, we put it in the microwave in a microwave-safe cup for 45 seconds. Add salt to the cup and stir for 2 minutes. 

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 When the salt has dissolved, place your second plastic cover with the little hole in a sunny place where it won't be disturbed. Pour your salt solution into the cover. Don't overfill! Then let it sit for approximately 4 days to get a cover full of crystals! You should see some crystals growing in 1 day. 

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Once your crystals have grown to fill the cover. Carefully hot glue the plastic circle from your first plastic cover over the crystals. Make sure not to crush the salt crystals, they're fragile. 

12 easy crystal projects for kids

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