On Friday I tried out a new STEM lesson.  One of my colleagues was looking for a fun, winter-themed lab and I suggested we try making crystal snowflakes.  What a huge hit!  We started by discussing crystals as related to snowflakes.  I shared a video about the formation of snowflake crystals, and we talked about different types of crystals.

The lab itself is extremely simple.  We made snowflake ‘skeletons’ out of pipe cleaners, and hung them in cups full of a borax/hot water solution.  We discussed vocabulary terms such as solution, saturation, evaporation, and precipitation.  The kids were extremely excited.  I let them choose food coloring to dye their solution with, and we left them over the weekend.  This morning, I pulled out my demo snowflake, and it was covered in crystals.  I can’t wait for the kids to come in and see them!

Want to try this lesson yourself?  Check it out below: