Abstract Borax Crystals Pipe Cleaner Sculptures

I’ve seen some seasonal borax crystal crafts lately and thought it would be fun to use this science experiment as a way to create Abstract Borax Crystals Pipe Cleaner Sculptures. Non-representational art is an easy way to focus on the process of the artwork rather than the end result. If you have a child that is anxious about art needing to be something this would be a great project to try.

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WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE ABSTRACT BORAX CRYSTALS PIPE CLEANER SCULPTURES

boiling water
borax powder
large glass jars- like these
pipe cleaners– I like the 6 inch ones for this project
string or twine

AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT

scientific exploration
artistic expression
color exploration
mathematics (measurement)
fine motor development

HOW TO MAKE ABSTRACT BORAX CRYSTALS PIPE CLEANER SCULPTURES

Introduce the activity with a variety of colored pipe cleaners. I placed them in the middle of the table and we all got to work bending them and attaching the pipe cleaners together in different ways. We made this a very relaxed activity, and I promoted the idea that we didn’t have to have an exact plan in mind when making the sculptures.

Once my children decided they were finished I attached a piece of twine to each of their sculptures.

Next we created the borax-water solution. We used the recipe from Steve Spangler Science and doubled it. This is also a great site that explains the “why” behind how the crystals form.

We created 2 cups of the solution per jar and submerged the pipe cleaner sculptures into the liquid. Place on a shelf or table and leave over night. Be careful not to bump the jar or this will disrupt the crystallization process. Side note: yours truly bumped one of the jars. Check out the photos below to see what happened. I think it is actually a Beautiful Oops! moment.

Once the crystals formed slowly removed the sculptures from the remaining liquid and place on a paper towel to dry. Look how cool the large crystals turned out.

And if you are super clumsy and bump the jar the particles separate in a different way and you get much smaller crystals. I love the delicate nature of this one.

Currently we have our Abstract Borax Crystals Pipe Cleaner Sculptures hanging in our windows, but I think they would look beautiful displayed on a shelf.