Borax Star Ornaments: Christmas Science Project
A gorgeous kid-made Christmas ornament that doubles as a Christmas science experiment, these Borax Star Ornaments are a fun snowy day activity for the kids!
DIY Borax Crystal Stars Craft
Ella and I first made these Borax Crystal Stars for our Starry Night painting as a sparkly 3D addition to give more visual interest and depth to our painting. They were so gorgeous on their own, I thought they’d also make beautiful Christmas tree ornaments!
I love how understated yet stunning these crystal star ornaments turned out. You can add them to a Christmas tree, hang on the window, or even make a little bunting banner using them.
Even if you’re one of those moms who likes a uniform, color-coordinated tree, these star ornaments can definitely fit into your aesthetic. (Just choose pipe cleaners in your planned ornament color scheme.)
This science project takes at least 3 days to magically transform your pipe cleaners into pretty, shaped crystal ornaments, so make sure you plan a bit ahead.
Growing your own Crystal Stars is an easy chemistry experiment that also allows kids to learn about crystal formation. Basically, you make a very saturated water-and-borax solution that (as it cools) starts to form crystal particles on whatever is added to the water. We’ve done this experiment with egg shells and pipe cleaners, and I really enjoy that we can make the pipe cleaners into a variety of shapes to grow crystals on.
You can delve deeper into the concepts of solubility, states of matter (liquid vs solid), recrystallization, and suspension. You can read more about borax crystal experiments on Steve Spangler Science.
Ingredients for Borax Crystal Stars
- Pipe cleaners (silver, yellow, white or gold)
- Borax powder <– you can also use this to make slime or homemade laundry detergent
- Boiling Water
- Mason jars
- Chopsticks or skewer sticks
- Dental floss or string
- Baking Twine or Embroidery Thread, for hanging
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.
Tip: you can make as much of the borax solution as you need, keeping the borax powder to boiling water ratio the same.
We usually use these sturdy plastic lunch trays for almost all of our craft or kitchen activities, as well as in our Montessori practical life activities. Ours have lasted for over 6 years and are still going strong, plus they are so great for containing messes and allowing the kids to set a project to the side while it dries (or if you have to clear off the table for supper). For this craft, the canvas was too big for our trays, so we had to use newspaper to protect our surface.
How to Make Borax Crystal Stars
Shape your pipe cleaners into star shapes.
Use a piece of dental floss or string to tie the pipe cleaner star to a chopstick or wooden skewer stick. (You will want about 4″ of string between the two.) Set aside.
Boil your water and pour into a heat-safe mason jar.
Stir 3 Tablespoons of borax powder into the water and stir well. Keep adding borax powder into the solution until no more borax powder will dissolve (you may have some settled at the bottom of your jar and that’s okay.)
Slowly lower the pipe cleaner stars into the solution and set in a safe place overnight or for up to three days.
Try to ensure that none of the pipe cleaners are touching, or you will have to break some of the crystals off when separating them later. (Using multiple jars can help with this.)
Remove the crystals carefully and dispose of the borax water. (It can be great if you have an ant problem outside, or add to laundry for a freshness boost.)
Allow the crystals to dry before tying a loop of embroidery thread around the star to hang it from the tree.
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Borax Star Ornaments: Christmas Science Project
A fun Christmas science experiment results in these glittery and gorgeous Christmas ornament. Grow your own Crystal Stars using just a few basic household materials
Materials
- Pipe cleaners (silver, yellow, white or gold)
- 3 Tablespoons Borax powder <-- you can also use this to make slime or homemade laundry detergent
- 1 cup boiling water
- Baking Twine or Embroidery Thread, for hanging
Tools
- Mason jars
- Chopsticks or skewer sticks
- Dental floss or string
Instructions
- Shape your pipe cleaners into star shapes.
- Use a piece of dental floss or string to tie the pipe cleaner star to a chopstick or wooden skewer stick. (You will want about 4" of string between the two.) Set aside.
- Boil your water and pour into a heat-safe mason jar.
- Stir 3 Tablespoons of borax powder into the water and stir well. Keep adding borax powder into the solution until no more borax powder will dissolve (you may have some settled at the bottom of your jar and that's okay.)
- Slowly lower the pipe cleaner stars into the solution and set in a safe place overnight or for up to three days.
- Try to ensure that none of the pipe cleaners are touching, or you will have to break some of the crystals off when separating them later. (Using multiple jars can help with this.)
- Remove the crystals carefully and dispose of the borax water. (It can be great if you have an ant problem outside, or add to laundry for a freshness boost.)
- Allow the crystals to dry before tying a loop of embroidery thread around the star to hang it from the tree.
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I hope your kids love making these pretty borax crystal stars as much as mine did!
For more kid-made Christmas ornaments, check out our Gingerbread Play Dough Ornaments or our Felt Gingerbread House Sewing Project.
