Borax crystal ornaments

:How to explain what this experiment is:

Borax is a cheap,easy & very fun example of a crystal!


When you add Borax, the molecules make room for borax crystals to dissolve. But a point of saturation can be reached meaning there will be some remaining crystals. As this water cools off  the water molecules move closer together again. Crystals begin to form and build around another item in the water, such as the pipe cleaner. This is especially true as the water evaporates over time. 

Christmas Science Experiment: Borax Crystal Snowflakes/ornaments

This Christmas science experiment takes a little while but it’s worth it!

Your kids will love watching it and learning how Borax makes snow crystals out of pipe cleaner ornaments. 


  • Box of Borax detergent (found in the cleaning items aisle in most grocery stores.)
  • Hot water
  • Wide mouth jars such as Mason Jars or even some empty jars of pasta sauce/jelly can work. 
  • Pipe cleaners 
  • string of any kind

What to do:

  2.   Tie a string to the top of the ornament. 
  3. Fill jars with hot water. 
  4.  Add three tablespoons of Borax to each jar of water. 
  6. Leave the pipe cleaner ornaments in the water overnight. 
  7. By the next day, the Borax will have crystallized in the water and become attached to the pipe cleaner ornaments.


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