instructables
How to Grow Borax Crystals
by jessyratfink
Growing Borax crystals is a fun science experiment that you can do easily and cheaply at home!
In this instructable, I'll teach you how to grow your own beautifully colored borax crystals using pipe cleaners as a
base. The pipe cleaners allow large crystals to form on them, and they also make the crystals a little more durable
in the end.
I'll also give you lots of tips and tricks for making better Borax crystals. :D
How to Grow Borax Crystals: Page 1
Step 1: Tools + Materials
You don't need much for this project - mostly time and patience!
Materials:
Boiling water
Borax
Pipe cleaners
Thread
Tools:
Dowels or other object to hang pipe cleaners from
Large heat-safe glass measuring cup for making the Borax solution
Heat-safe glass canning jars for growing crystals (optional)
Scissors
Step 2: Prep Your Pipe Cleaners
The first thing you'll want to do is bend your pipe
cleaners into a compact shape. The more compact it
is, the more crystals will form on the outside. If you
leave big gaps in your pipe cleaners, your crystals will
end up with holes in them.
Once the pipe cleaners are bent into the shapes you
want, tie a 8 inch length of thread to each of them. (It
you have problems getting the thread through the
pipe cleaners, try a needle threader! That made it
easier.) Cut away the excess thread after the knot.
Hang your pipe cleaners on the dowels so they'll be
suspended entirely in the vessel you're using - not
touching the walls or bottom.
How to Grow Borax Crystals: Page 2
Step 3: Make a Saturated Solution
A saturated solution is just what it sounds like. In this
case, it means that we need to add enough Borax to
the boiling water until no more can be dissolved into
the water.
For every cup of water, add 3-4 tablespoons of Borax.
Stir it until the water becomes clear and the majority
of the Borax is dissolved. (I typically do 3 cups of
water at a time.) Keep adding and stirring until the
water stops dissolving the Borax.
For best results, add enough Borax that you can see
a small pile of it on the bottom of the glass after
stirring until the water is clear.
(P.S. If you add so much Borax that the water
becomes cloudy, your crystals will be cloudy as well!
Add more boiling water!)
How to Grow Borax Crystals: Page 3
Step 4: Assemble and Wait!
If your water has cooled down, I highly recommend
microwaving it until boiling temperature again - that
makes the best crystals!
Place the dowels over the container and immerse the
pipe cleaners into the saturated solution, shaking
them a little to get rid of any air bubbles.
none of them are touching each other or the edges of
the container), cover the container loosely with
something to keep it warm longer. (Slower cooling
also means bigger crystals!)
Place it in a safe area where it won't get jostled and
let the crystals grow overnight.
Once you're happy with their placement (make sure
How to Grow Borax Crystals: Page 4
Step 5: What It Should Look Like the Next Day
The next day, you'll notice LOADS of crystals forming on the lower sides and bottom of the container. Your pipe
cleaners should also be covered!
Two notes about this batch:
I threw one pipe cleaner in and let it rest on the bottom, just to see how it went. It worked well, but
was hard to pry off the bottom. It has a flat side if you're into that!
The dark red pipe cleaner did not want to accept many crystals. No idea why. ¯\_( )_/¯
How to Grow Borax Crystals: Page 5
Step 6: Dry the Crystals and Enjoy!
Pull the crystals out of the solution and lay them on paper towels, switching the towels out when they become
damp.
Let the crystals dry thoroughly before messing with them too much. I left mine in the window for an afternoon and
they dried out really well. :)
Once the crystals are dry, they're much less likely to break or crack, and will also sound like glass when you tap
them together.
How to Grow Borax Crystals: Page 6
Step 7: Tips and Tricks for Growing Borax Crystals
I tried this multiple times so I could give you some
tips on what you should and shouldn't do. :D
Less crystals in a container = bigger crystals
In my first batch, I used individual canning jars for the
crystals. As you saw, I crammed 7 pipe cleaners into
one measuring cup when I made this instructable. I
can definitely say the ones grown individually had
larger crystals and more of them.
Don't try to add more Borax once the pipe
crystals are in the solution
This was something else that seemed to grow bigger
crystals. The pipe cleaners closest to the bottom in
the measuring cup definitely ended up with more
crystals than the ones hanging near the surface of the
solution.
Always, always start with SUPER hot water
Every time I let the crystals start growing in less-thancrazy-hot water, I got pretty meh results. Smaller,
cloudier crystals and much more growth on the actual
container.
You can reuse the Borax solution over and over!
I attempted this on one of my first tries. I don't
recommend it unless you want it to look like one half
of your crystal has been covered in lumpy snow. :P
Try to hang the crystals close to the bottom of the
container
Bring it to boiling in the microwave, and add more
water and Borax as needed. That's another reason I
like using the pipe cleaners - instead of putting food
coloring into the solution and getting many crystals of
the same color, you get tons of colors at once!
How to Grow Borax Crystals: Page 7
How to Grow Borax Crystals: Page 8