Ready to combine holiday fun with hands-on science? This engaging Christmas STEM activity lets kids explore how crystals grow while creating beautiful candy cane ornaments! You’ll learn about suspension science with simple supplies and patience and watch sparkling crystals form overnight.
Make Crystal Candy Canes
💡 Perfect for the holiday countdown, join us for 25 Days of Christmas STEM Activities!
SUPPLIES:
- Borax Powder (find it in the laundry aisle—also great for making borax slime!)
- Water
- Mason jars (wide mouth preferred)
- Pipe cleaners (red, green, white)
- Pan, spoon, measuring cup, and tablespoon
- Popsicle sticks or pencils
- Ribbon (for turning your creations into ornaments)
Instructions to Make Crystal Candy Canes
Step 1: Make Pipe Cleaner Candy Canes
- Cut pipe cleaners in half to make smaller candy canes.
- Twist combinations of red, green, and white pipe cleaners into candy cane shapes.
- Attach your candy canes to popsicle sticks so they hang freely in the jar, avoiding contact with the sides or bottom of the jar.
Step 2: Create the Borax Solution
- Boil water in a pan and remove from heat.
- Add borax (3 tablespoons of borax per 1 cup of water) and stir until it dissolves completely.
- Pour the solution into mason jars, leaving space at the top.
- Place jars in a quiet area to avoid disturbances.
Step 3: Watch the Crystals Grow
- Within a few hours, you’ll see crystals starting to form.
- In 18–24 hours, your candy canes will be covered in beautiful, sturdy crystals.
💡 While you’re waiting, try a Dissolving Candy Canes Experiment or try bending candy canes!
Step 4: Dry, Observe, and Decorate
- Remove candy canes from the jars and dry them on paper towels.
- Use a magnifying glass to examine the cube-like crystals and structure—so cool!
- Add ribbon and hang your ornaments on the tree or in a sunny window to catch the light.
What’s the Science Behind Crystal Candy Canes?
At the heart of this Christmas crystal ornament activity is a saturated solution. When borax dissolves in hot water, the heat causes water molecules to move faster and spread apart, allowing the liquid to hold more borax than it could at a cooler temperature. As the solution cools, the water molecules slow down and come closer together, leaving no room for the borax to dissolve.
The borax particles settle out of the solution and attach to the pipe cleaners, forming cube-shaped crystals. The process works best when cooling happens slowly, which allows fewer impurities to remain in the crystals and creates larger, sturdier structures.
Did you know? The type of container you use affects crystal formation!
- Glass jars: Retain heat longer, allowing slower cooling and the growth of larger, more durable crystals.
- Plastic cups: Cool faster, leading to smaller, more fragile crystals with more impurities.
💡 Did you know you can also grow salt crystals if you don’t want to use borax? Take a look at these beautiful salt crystal snowflakes, but you can make any shape, including candy canes.
Extension Activities
Christmas Science Ornaments
💡 Put science on the Christmas tree! Find more fun science ornaments here.
- Bioplastic Ornaments: Learn about sustainability by making biodegradable holiday decorations.
- Circuit Ornaments: Light up your tree with simple LED circuits embedded in handcrafted ornaments.
- Binary-Coded Candy Canes: Combine coding with creativity by designing ornaments that spell out holiday messages in binary.
Christmas Candy Cane Science Experiments
Printable Candy Cane STEAM Project Pack
For a complete pack of instructions, templates, and extras, grab our Candy Cane Project Pack!
I don’t have access to Borax. Is there something else I can use?
I have seen people use sugar and rock salt, but not sure of the results.
I have read about sugar and rock salt. You can check out recipes for rock candy. I don’t believe you will get the same complete effect as the borax though.
do you know how to clean out the leftover crystals of the mason jars? I am a teacher and I really don’t want to just trash all 36 mason jars =(
I can usually break them out with a butter knife and warm water. A really tough case might have to sit and soak a day. I run the jars through a dishwasher after that. I haven’t had any problems getting the leftover crystals out yet.
In your directions, what do you mean by turn off heat?
I don’t have access to enough mason jars for my entire class. Can I use those clear, plastic, disposable cups instead?
When boiling the water for the mixture! Turn off the heat and then add the borax.
There needs to be a safety note that pregnant women should not handle borax. Increase risk of miscarriage. This is advice from CLEAPPS from about 5 years ago when this link was identified.
Do the pipe cleaners need to be fully submerged in the mixture or do we only allow a small bit at the bottom to be touching the mixture?
Fully submerged because the solution settles. It won’t really travel up the pipe cleaner.
This didn’t work for me, even after following your directions exactly and waiting 36 hours. NO crystals. Any idea what happened?
Wow. I am sorry. I can’t say what might have happened. I have not had that happen on any of our crystal projects. 3 tablespoons of borax to 1 cup of boiling hot water. We have tested both glass jars and plastic cups but glass jars do work better. The solution will be very cloudy to start and it will slowly become clear again. It should remain undisturbed. Feel free to email me at getmovingfitness@gmail.com and we can talk more about it. I would definitely recommend trying it again though.
This has happened to me before, not sure why nut I dumped out and redid and it worked?
Can you do more than 1 candy cane in a jar (as long as they aren’t touching?)
Can you boil the water and add the board the night before? Or does the water need to be hot when it goes into the mason jars? Thanks!
Sadly, it does need to be hot when it goes into the jar with the pipe cleaner. It’s the cooling process that is part of the crystal formation.
No you really need to do it all at once to have the best results!
Yes, no touching! Or they will grow together!
Temperature, saturation of solution, or pollutants that made their way into the jar? Lots of factors, but I have had this happen too!
Absolutely!
I am going to try this with my toddlers, can’t wait !! Thank you!