Xmas Activities - Let it Snow and Grow!

Get into the festive spirit with two fun, hands-on experiments that mix Christmas cheer with chemistry!

First, create your own instant snow using simple ingredients from around the house to set a snowy scene or even build a snowman. Then, watch chemistry in action as beautiful crystals grow overnight on your festive pipe-cleaner designs.

Both experiments explore changes in materials and how different substances react when mixed together or dissolved. Perfect for a little holiday science magic!

Before we get started, let’s make some guesses about what might happen. Scientists like to make predictions, or hypotheses, before they do experiments. It helps them figure out what to expect and why things happen the way they do.

Have a go at making your best guess using the questions below:

• How do you think the texture of the baking soda and conditioner will change when mixed together?
• Do you think the crystals will form quickly, or slowly?

Tīmata! Let’s get started!

Instant Snow:

• 2 1/2 cups of baking soda
• 1/3 cup of white hair conditioner
• Plastic container with a lid

Christmas Crystals:

• Pipe cleaners
• 2 cups of hot water
• 6 tablespoons of borax
• Tall, heat resistant glass
• Popsicle stick or wooden skewer
• Tape
• Scissors

Tip - This makes one batch, enough for one crystal.
If you’d like to grow more, make separate batches for each crystal, or use a larger pot and multiply the recipe by the number of crystals. Just make sure the shapes don’t touch while they grow.

Instant Snow:

1. Add all of the baking soda and hair conditioner into the container.
2. Give it a good mix - and watch the snow appear! If the snow is too wet, add more baking soda. 

Christmas Crystals:

1. First, bend your pipe cleaners into whatever Christmas shape you would like.
2. Tie a piece of string to the top off your pipe cleaner shape and tape the string to a popsicle stick. Make sure the string is long enough to fully submerge your shape in your heatproof glass.
3. Boil 2 cups of water on the stove, once boiling add the borax, one tablespoon at a time, stirring in between each.
4. When the solution looks clear, it means all the borax has dissolved. Get an adult to carefully pour the mixture into your glass.
5. Submerge your pipe cleaner shape into the glass, resting the popsicle stick across it. Make sure it doesn’t touch the sides of the glass.
6. Let it cool overnight and wake up to a beautiful crystal!

• In what  ways is this snow similar to or different from real snow?
• What did you notice about how and where the crystals formed?
• How long did it take before you started to see crystals appear?

Instant Snow:
When you mix baking soda (a powder) with hair conditioner (a liquid), the two combine to create a fluffy, mouldable material that looks like snow! The baking soda absorbs some of the moisture from the conditioner, forming tiny clumps that hold their shape — just like real snowflakes sticking together.

Christmas Crystals:
The hot water dissolves the borax, creating a saturated solution — meaning it’s holding as much borax as it possibly can. As the solution cools, the water can’t hold all that borax anymore, so the extra borax starts to stick to your pipe cleaner shape. Over time, those tiny borax particles join together to form beautiful crystals!