Growing Crystal Rainbows

 

Fun • Easy Preparation • Few Ingredients • Not Messy

 

Materials:

• Pipe cleaners ( red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple/violet, & white) if you can find indigo add that
• Bowl
• Borax ( found in your grocery store laundry section)
• Stick long enough to sit across top of bowl
• Boiling Water
• Wire or string
• Adult Supervision 

 

Instructions:

Gather all your supplies and boil water to fill the bowl.

Note: This science project needs adult supervision; you will be using HOT water and Borax. Read Borax box for safety precautions before starting this project.

Shape rainbow colored pipe cleaners aka Chenille Stems to form a Rainbow
Use white pipe cleaners to secure the ends.

I also used white pipe cleaners to make crystal clouds
(sorry I forgot to take a picture)

 

Pour boiling water into a bowl or large jar.
Take note of how many cups of water it takes to fill the bowl.
ADD 3 heaping tbsp Borax to each 1 cup of hot water. Stir until dissolved.
(If you have 3 cups of water you will add 9 tbsp of borax)

Use wire or string to attach your rainbow to the stick. Put the rainbow into the solution making sure rainbow does not touch the bottom or sides.

 

 

Now It’s Time to Watch And Wait

The hardest part of this project is waiting until your crystals form.
When I made this rainbow it took about 2 hours before I noticed crystals forming.
Its best not to move or touch the bowl or stick.

Crystals starting to form

2 Hours Later

 

Super Thinker

Questions to Consider

1. What shape are your borax crystals?
2. What color are your borax crystals?
3. Are your crystals shiny or dull?
4. Are your crystals smooth or rough?
5. What happens if you put your crystals in hot water?

 

20-24 Hours Later

Take the crystal rainbow out of the solution and set on a paper towel.
If you made the crystal clouds, carefully attach them to the rainbow using wire.
or
Glue cotton balls to the ends.

Crystal Rainbow with Cotton Ball Clouds

Crystal Rainbow with Crystal Clouds

Hang Your CRYSTAL RAINBOW in a window and admire

Make Different Rainbow Color Shapes

Close Up View of Borax Crystals

(Click on image for larger view)

Enjoy Your Beautiful Crystal Rainbow

 

Teaching Kids the Colors of the Rainbow

This would be a fun project to do in class or at home when teaching children the different colors in a rainbow, or around Saint Patricks Day. Maybe make some crystal shamrocks to go along with your rainbow.

Here is a song to learn the Colors of the Rainbow

Click Arrow on player below to hear
COLORS OF THE RAINBOW song

[mp3-jplayer tracks=”Colors of the Rainbow@http://billygorilly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Colors-of-the-Rainbow-Sample.mp3″ captions=”by Billy Gorilly;”]

Buy Colors of the Rainbow song here  Amazon • CdBaby •  iTunes

 

Why Do Crystals Form?

Simply Put:
Hot water holds more borax than cold water. When you add borax to hot water it dissolves. When the borax will no longer dissolve you have a saturated solution. Hot water molecules can hold more than cool. As the water cools down the water molecules will start releasing the borax, and the crystals will begin to form.

 

Where Does Borax Come From?

Borax occurs naturally in evaporate deposits produced by the repeated evaporation of seasonal lakes.
For more borax info visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borax

 

This is a fun project and the crystals are beautiful. I hope you’ll give it a try!

 

Until Next Time…

Keep Smiling, Singing, and Learning
And You Can Make Everyday
Simply Splendiferous!

 and the Billy Gorilly Crew