Kids Craft - Crystal Snowflakes
One of the things I enjoy doing most is opening my son’s eyes up to the joys of science. Although science was never my favorite subject when I was in school, I understand the importance of introducing it in a manner that is fun for my son so that in the future he will love rather than loathe science like I did. Many of the activities that we do together are rooted in science. We do all types of things ranging from chemistry experiments to rock excavation. Science has simply become part of our everyday life and he enjoys it tremendously. This time, I decided to make a craft with him that would combine science and fun. Here in Atlanta we are highly unlikely to get much snow accumulation and quite frankly, the frigid weather is more than enough for me. My son however, still remains sad that he won’t be able to make a snowman this year. To raise his happiness level, I decided we could make our own version of snowflakes to lighten up his mood. The process is really simple, I purchased all of the items necessary for the project at Walmart.
What you need:
Pipe Cleaners (Glitter Sticks)
Borax ($3.97)
Jar or other container
ribbon
Method
1. Form snowflake with a pipe cleaner. Fold pipe cleaner in half and cut. Fold in half again and cut so you have four pieces. Use three of the pieces to form a stars shape/snowflake.
Repeat process until you have desired number of snowflakes.
2. Tie a piece of ribbon to snowflake and attach to craft stick.
3. For one snowflake: Boil 1 cup of water, pour boiling water into glass jar. Add 3 tablespoons of Borax to the water and stir until dissolved. Submerge snowflake in water with craft stick resting on top of container opening. Adult supervision is necessary for this step. (Change the recipe depending on number of snowflakes. We used a mini aquarium and were able to fit 4 snowflakes in the container. We boiled 4 cups of water and added 3 tablespoons Borax per cup of water for a total of 12 tablespoons).
4. Let sit for 24 hours.
5. Enjoy your snowflakes!
My son was so excited by the results that he took one of our snowflakes to school for show and tell. It was a big hit! Science and fun, wins every time!
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