If you’ve walked around any big box store, you may have seen kits for growing your own crystals. My kids love crystals, and I can’t blame them! What’s not to love about something so colorful and sparkly? Growing your own crystals isn’t hard, and you actually don’t even need a special kit to make them. Using just a few simple ingredients, you can make your own crystal science experiment at home! In this quick tutorial I’ll show you how to make your own crystal butterfly craft, but you can easily switch it up and make any design your kids choose.
GET A FULL WEEK OF BUTTERFLY THEME ACTIVITIES WITH OUR PRESCHOOL BUTTERFLY LESSON PLANS
These Crystal Butterflies are so easy to make and would work well in an insect theme, or themes all about spring or butterflies.
Crystals form naturally when liquids start to cool and harden. In nature, this is when liquid rock, also known as magma, cools. As certain molecules in this liquid gather together, they attempt to become stable. They do this in a repeating and uniform pattern that forms the crystal.
For more information on how crystals are made, check out this article.
Crystal Butterfly Craft Supplies
- Pipe cleaners in assorted spring colors
- Scissors
- Pencil or chopstick
- Clothespins (optional)
- Borax powder
- Water
- Glass jar
- Hot glue, glue gun
Crystal Butterfly Craft Directions
1. Begin by using the pipe cleaners to create the butterfly wing shapes. To do this, fold the pipe cleaner into a figure-eight shape. Twist at the center to secure into place, and so the shape holds.
2. Set the butterfly wing shape aside and bring two cups of water to a boil. Add in a 1/2 cup of Borax powder to every two cups of water you prepare. Remove from heat.
3. Tie an additional piece of pipe cleaner to the wing shapes. Tie the opposite end to a pencil or chopstick. NOTE if you are having a hard time holding the pipe cleaner in place, use a clothespin to secure it.
4. Drop the wings into the glass jar. Let the pencil or chopstick rest across the top of the jar. Carefully fill the jar with the water and Borax mixture. Fill it to the top and make sure the wings are submerged.
5. Allow the wings to rest. After 24 hours you will notice the crystals starting to form on the pipe cleaners. After 2-3 days the design will be coated in crystals.
6. Remove the wings from the jar, cut away the hanging pipe cleaner, and set the wings on a paper towel to dry thoroughly.
7. Cut two small segments of pipe cleaners for antennae. Twist the tops to give them shape and use the hot glue and glue gun to attach them to the butterfly wings.
Your crystal butterflies are now ready to be displayed.
There is nothing more exciting than the big reveal of your very own handmade crystal butterfly! The look on my kids’ faces when they pulled out their crystal butterflies was well worth the effort!
In case your kids weren’t excited about the whole crystal-making process, we took our crystals outside to see how they looked in the sun! Your kids will love hanging the crystals where they can see the light shine on them just as much as making the craft!
Get a Full Week of Butterfly Theme Learning and Play
Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provided different versions for home preschool families and classroom teachers so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.
In this 248-page comprehensive preschool butterfly theme lesson plan pack kids learn about the life cycle of a butterfly during a full-week (or more!) of playful reading, math, and science activities. Vivid photographs are included throughout the unit so children can see real life examples of caterpillars and butterflies. Watch this short video to see just a few examples of the types of activities and printables included in this set:
This set includes active hands-on learning ideas and the following printables:
1) Butterfly Life Cycle Roll and Graph Game
2) Butterfly Life Cycle Roll and Graph Game
3) Caterpillar Uppercase Alphabet Cards
4) Butterfly Lowercase Alphabet Cards
5) Butterfly Life Cycle Cards
6) Butterfly Symmetry Matching Cards
7) Butterfly Life Cycle Word Building Mats
8) Caterpillar Measurement Recording Sheet
9) Caterpillar Patterning Activity
10) Caterpillar Syllable Sort
11) Caterpillar Egg Leaf Counting Mats (Numbers 1-10)
Get Your Lesson Plans
Also available on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Angela
Can this experiment be done using something other than Borax?
Shaunna Evans
There are a few different ways to make crystals with things like Epsom salt or baking soda. However, I’ve found only Borax results in the effect as shown in this tutorial.