Maker Artifacts

Students were really intrigued about the crystal process. We found that the milkier the mixture was (the more Borax we added to the hot water) the better the crystals. Some students found that if the pipe cleaner was too long, it would stick to the bottom of the jar. It had to be suspended in the mixture. We also read that the mixture could be reused, but when we put it in the microwave to reheat it, some of the jars became too hot and cracked! The jars we used were recycled glass jars, not mason jars. Students wanted to make more and improve upon their earlier designs.

Students found it challenging to make the gears with cardboard. We had to find a way to stabilize the dowel on top of the gear and found that using a straw kept it relatively in place. We also found that we had to add felt in order to help the gear attached to the handle grab the gear on top. The cardboard was too slippery. Some objects were too heavy for the gears, so we used paper, small amounts of cardboard and paper cups. Some students wanted to give up when the gears didn't work at first, but they kept trying to change it until they saw some success!