Borax (or sodium tetraborate decahydrate as it is known to scientists) is fairly common household cleanser, found in the laundry isle of most grocery stores. A naturally mined substance, it's has been used for
Borax (or sodium tetraborate decahydrate as it is known to scientists) is fairly common household cleanser, found in the laundry isle of most grocery stores. A naturally mined substance, it's has been used for years as a cleaner.While can be used for a variety of chores, it is also great for science projects! Which would you rather do on a rainy day? Clean the house with Borax or use it to make goo? Yea, I thought so!
So, I've got five great projects for you to do in your own kitchen: Slime, Bouncy Balls, Crystal Ornaments, Dried Flowers and Flame Tests. (You can even use the Borax to clean up any messes you in pursuit of science!)
A quick note on safety: Though it is a natural substance it is important to wash your hands or wear gloves when using Borax. Clean up all residue well, with plenty of water. You may want to consider goggles as well.
1. Making Slime:
One of my kids favorite uses for Borax is to make slime. This gooey, messy concoction is always a hit. Luckily, it's very easy to do. And it teaches a lot about polymerization -- the Borax acts to link together chains in the glue, creating the rubbery, plastic-like slime.
Simply add 1/2 cup of water to 1/2 cup of white glue and mix well. The better you mix, the better your slime will be. Add a bit of food coloring or paint to color the mixture, if desired. Then make a solution of 1 teaspoon of Borax to 1 cup of water; mix until all of the borax is well dissolved. To create the slime, add the Borax solution to the glue mixture and stir.
The amount and vigor of stirring will affect the final slime -- ranging from oozy goo to a nearly Silly Putty consistency. You can also adjust how much of the Borax solution you add; more Borax means more polymerization and more of a rubbery concoction. If you want something really oozy, add less Borax.
This slime can be stored in a sealed bag or container for quite (two weeks) a while if it is kept cool or refrigerated. Be careful though; it can be tough to get out of rugs. To make the slime even more fun, try adding glow in the dark paint, using clear glue, or using glitter glue in the mix.
2. Making Bouncy Balls:
This relies on the same polymerization process as the slime, but uses corn starch as a binder. My kids always keep a real kick out of the changes the occur so quickly with this reaction.
The basis process is this: Make a Borax solution of 2 tablespoons warm water and 1/2 teaspoon Borax. Mix well and add coloring if you want. In a separate bowl, add 1 tablespoon of white glue to 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Don't mix them just yet.
Now add 1/2 teaspoon of the Borax solution to the cornstarch bowl. Let this sit for 10-15 seconds to begin the reaction. Then start stirring. Once the mixture comes together as a sticky clump, you can take it into your hands, rolling it until you get a ball.
To be honest, this basic recipe doesn't really give you a great bouncy ball right off the bat, but the more you play with it, the more it sets up and the better it gets. The Borax bouncy ball provides a great opportunity for experimentation: adjust the concentration of Borax to water to adjust the polymerization. Or adjust the glue to cornstarch ratio to affect the density of the ball. There is certainly a science fair project in there, no doubt.
3. Making Crystal Shapes:
This one we love to do at Christmas time, because it makes pretty snowflakes, but it's fun to do any time of year, really.
You start by making a super-saturated solution of Borax. To do this, heat your water to boiling and it add to a glass jar (I like to use salsa jars or Mason jars). Add Borax by the tablespoon, stirring well after each addition. When you cannot dissolve any more Borax into the water, you've hit super-saturation. The water is actually holding more Borax than it can when cool! At this point you can add a bit of food coloring or liquid watercolor paint to tint the water (and therefore the crystals). If you plan to do many shapes, you can simple make a large batch of Borax solution and pour it into the jars.
Now take pipe cleaners and bend them into fun shapes. You can make swirls, hearts, stars, or, obviously, snowflakes. Use thread to create a hanger by tying it to the top of the shape. Place a pencil (or chopstick or bamboo skewer) across the top of the jar and hang the shapes into the Borax solution. Use a bit of tape to keep them attached (this is easier than tying them to the pencil). Make sure the shapes aren't touching the sides of the jar or each other.
Put the jars somewhere safe, where they won't be disturbed. You'll start to see crystals form as the solution cools, but it's best to give it 24 hours to let the crystals really grow. When they have, just pull the shapes out, d