Make CRYSTALS in your Science Project

              Check out how to test various aspects of this project. 

Make a borax crystal

EASY!

BUY THESE THINGS or find them in your house:

• string
• Plastic container or glass jar
• pipe cleaners (if you use colored you don't need food coloring)
• borax 
• pencil
• boiling water
•  food coloring 
• scissors

Here's What you Do:

1. Cut a pipe cleaner in three parts.
2. Twist the parts together in the middle.  This shape should fit inside the jar or bottle.
3. Tie the string to the end of one pipecleaner. Tie the other end of the string to the pencil. You want the pipecleaner to fit in the jar.
4. Fill the container with boiling water.

5. Add borax one tablespoon at a time to the boiling water, stirring to dissolve. The amount used is 3 tablespoons borax per cup of water. It is ok if some undissolved borax settles to the bottom of the jar.
6. You can put food color in the water.
7. Hang the pipe cleaner in the container and let the pencil sit on top of the jar and make sure the pipe cleaner is completely covered with liquid and hangs freely (not touching the bottom of the jar).
8. Allow the jar to sit all night or all day.
9. Carefully pull out the pipe cleaner and you have beautiful crystals.

REMEMBER:

1. Borax can be bought at a department store with the laundry soaps.
2. Always have an adult supervise your experiment.