Soltice is coming as are the winter holidays....Here is an activity that parents can do with their children. It is along the lines of a science project meets a craft project... Materials that you will need: String Jar White pipe cleaners Blue food colouring Boiling water (parents please be careful) Borax (laundry powder kind) Scissors Pencil Directions: Cut the pipe cleaner into three equal parts. Attach the three peices together in the middle so that it makes a six sided star shape. Take your string and attach it around the edges of the star shape to make a snowflake. Take one more piece of string and attach it to the snowflake then tie the other end to the pencil. Next pour boiling water into the jar. Please parents, do this part for your children and use caution. Then put three tbsps. of borax into the water for every cup of water that you used. Mix until dissolved. Add a few drops of food colouring to make the snowflake tinted. Next put the snowflake into the water, resting the pencil on the rim of the jar. Make sure that the snowflake can hang freely in the solution and not rest on the bottom of the jar. Leave the snowflake in the solution for a day or two. Then take your snowflake out of the jar and hang in a window as a decoration. This is a lesson in the science of crystalization as well as saturation. Hot water can hold and dissolve more borax than cold water can. As the water cools and evaporates, over time, the borax starts to crystalize and form on the pipe cleaners. This happens when the molecules of borax move closer together. Have fun.
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