Post by Rebecca Green of Not-So-SAHM

Between a re-obsession with Harry Potter and a general interest in all things magical and mystical, there has been lots and lots of talk of potions, magic wands, and mythical creatures around our home lately. So when the kids added a request for new science experiments to our Summer Bucket List, I knew growing our own crystals was definitely going to be one of them. It’s the perfect science experiment for kids of all ages because it’s fairly fail proof (as long as you follow a few key steps) and it yields fantastic results relatively quickly. You can grow crystals on pipe cleaners in any shape you like, but sticking with our mythological theme and Cami’s belief that unicorns eat crystals, we decided to grow unicorn horn crystals.

The science behind these is pretty simple. The main ingredient is Borax, which is a natural mineral occurring in crystalline form. You can find it in powdered form as a laundry booster and all around cleaner. When added to water the Borax crystals dissolve. Heated water molecules move farther apart than cold water, so adding Borax to hot water allows for more crystals to dissolve and create a saturated solution. Once the water starts to cool, the water molecules move closer together again, and the Borax crystals start to reform on one another.

Here’s what you’ll need to make our crystals:

• Borax 
• Hot water
• Pipe cleaners (we suggest using a few rainbow colors or the striped variety—we hear unicorns like those best)
• Glass jar (you can use any recyclables you have, but you want one tall enough to fit the pipe cleaner. We used tall jars that held about 12 ounces)
• Wooden skewer
• Twine 

Help each child wind a pipe cleaner around a pencil to make the unicorn horn shape. We twisted two together to make a bigger area for crystals to grow. Then tie twine to the top of the twist and tie it onto the wooden skewer. Repeat with another set of pipe cleaners so you have two twists per skewer.

You’ll be mixing a Borax solution in a ratio of 3 cups water to 9 tablespoons Borax. We made three jars of crystals, so we used 9 cups of water and 27 tablespoons of Borax (the kids loved to count that out!!).

1. Have an adult boil the water—this is key because the hotter the water, the better the crystals will grow.
2. Next have the kids help measure and add in the Borax. Mix well for a few minutes until the solution is fairly clear.
3. Have an adult help fill each jar almost to the top with the solution.
4. Rest the skewer across the top of the jar with the pipe cleaners submerged in the solution— make sure they aren’t touching each other or the sides of the glass.
5. Place the jars in a cool place out of direct sunlight and await the crystals to form.
6. Once your crystals look complete, remove them from the solution, cut the twine, and your done!

You can experiment with letting them grow for different amounts of time. We left our crystals to form overnight but you can experiment with letting them grow for different amounts of time. We had enormous crystals so we had a little unicorn party with some Land of Nod unicorn goodies!

Thanks to The Land of Nod for the plush unicorns, sparkle wands, and balloons!!

Rebecca is a mom to two young kiddos and, in her spare time (ha!), likes to pretend she’s a back-up dancer, craft cocktails, and run long distances. A relatively recent SAHM, she blogs family-friendly activities, DIYs and celebration fun at Not-So-SAHM.