Valentine's Day Experiment: Crystal Hearts

Materials:

• Borax

• Glass Containers (Vases or Jars)

• Popsicle sticks or spoons,

• String

• Tape

• Pipe cleaners/Chenille Stems

Now Follow These Steps:

First: Take your chenille stems/pipe cleaners and shape them into hearts that will fit into the glass container. It is important that you can get your heart in and out of your jar or vase easily without force. 

Second:  Tie one end of the string around a popsicle stick or spoon and the other around the heart. Use a small piece of tape to keep the string in place. Try two hearts in one jar but once again make sure they can both go in and out of the container easily.
 
Next: Make your crystalizing solution. Boil enough water to cover the hearts when they are placed in each container. Put a 3rd of a cup of Borax into each glass container then add the boiling water. The solution will appear cloudy. 

Finally: Place each heart into the jar or vase placing the popsicle stick or spoon across the top of the container so it floats in the solution. Leave overnight. 

Here’s What’s Happening!

Crystal Hearts is a cool chemistry experiment using liquids, solids and soluble solutions. When solid particles are left untouched in the liquid mixture they will settle. We have made a saturated solution with more soluble solution (Borax) than the liquid can hold. When we heat the liquid the solution then becomes supersaturated. Supersaturated solutions are unstable so the excess Borax will crystallize on any rough surface. Once the solution cools down the solid particles (impurities) settle on the pipe cleaners and form crystals. Once a tiny seed crystal is formed, more of the falling material bonds with it to form larger crystals. 

Book a Valentine’s Show
Have the Science Guy visit your school!

Follow us on Facebook , Twitter or Instagram to see new experiments!