Snow is precipitation (water that falls back to earth) that happens when water vapors in the air freeze. This happens when the temperature in the clouds is very cold. Snowflakes are made up of ice crystals that form around a small particle, like dust. Snowflakes start out very small and grow. As they do, they take on different shapes. Each snowflake is unique and might contain up to 200 crystals.
A man named Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley, who lived in Vermont between 1865 and 1931, studied snowflakes and was the first to be credited with photographing them. From a very young age, Bentley was fascinated by the natural world. He loved to study butterflies, leaves and spider webs, and kept records of the daily weather. He was also fascinated by raindrops. On his 15th birthday, Bentley received a microscope and developed an interest in snow crystals. After equipping his microscope with a camera, he made the first successful photograph of a snowflake. In his photographs, you can see the different shapes of snowflakes.
While every snowflake is unique, there are seven identified shape structures:
- Star Crystal
- Dendrite Star
- Columns
- Plates
- Capped Columns
- Needles
- Irregular Forms
Learn more about snowflake shapes:
- Thoughtco
- Caltech
Extend this:
- On a snowy day, go outside and catch snowflakes on a piece of black construction paper or dark felt. (This works better if the felt is cold when you start.) Bring a magnifying glass and look at the shapes of the snowflakes. Can you identify which shape family they belong to?
- Learn more about Wilson Bentley by reading Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Mary Azarian, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.