Bayport–Blue Point Students Explore Crystallization In Holiday-Themed Lab

BAYPORT, NY — Bayport–Blue Point School District seventh graders in Jerome Burdi’s physical science class at James Wilson Young Middle School put their chemistry skills to the test during a holiday-themed solutions lab on Dec. 8.

Students explored how temperature changes affect supersaturated solutions while designing their own crystal ornaments. To start, the district said, students twisted pipe cleaners into stars, trees, candy canes, and other festive shapes before placing them into insulated cups.

They then added boiling water, used a solubility curve to calculate the amount of borax that could dissolve at that temperature, and carefully measured and mixed the borax into the solution. With pencils, binder clips, and string, students suspended their ornaments inside the mixture and left them to sit overnight.

By the next day, the district said, students returned to find their decorations coated in shimmering borax crystals — a hands-on demonstration of the science behind crystallization and a fun nod to the holiday season.