Snowflakes and Science

Image credit: Mikron86

When people say snowflake, they often mean snow crystal.  A snow crystal is a single crystal of ice within which the water molecules are lined up in a hexagonal array.  That's probably the image you think of when you are thinking of a snowflake.  However, the term snowflake is actually a lot more general than that.  It can refer to a snow crystal, but it can also refer to almost anything that falls from winter clouds.

You may have heard that every snowflake is unique, but why is that?  Well, every snow crystal starts when an extremely cold water droplet freezes onto a pollen or dust particle in the sky, forming a small hexagonal plate.. Branches sprout from the corners as it grows larger.  As a snow crystal tumbles through the clouds, it experiences different temperatures and humidities, which affect the growth of the snowflake's branches in unique ways.  No two snowflakes are the same because no two snowflakes have had the exact same journey through the atmosphere!

Contrary to popular belief, most snowflakes are not perfectly symmetrical.  The branches will look similar because they have all been through the same changes as they moved through the atmosphere, but irregular snowflakes are much more common than the near-perfect kind.

Now that we know a little bit about snowflake science, here's an experiment you can try at home to make your own "snowflake".

Borax Snowflake
What you'll need:

• String
• Wide mouth jar
• White pipe cleaners
• Boiling water (adult supervision)
• Borax
• Wooden pencil

Here's how you do it:

1. Take pipe cleaner and cut it into 3 equal parts. Then arrange pipe cleaner parts into a star shape by making an “X” with two of the pipe cleaners and laying the last pipe cleaner down the middle. Twist pipe cleaners where necessary to keep them holding together.
2. Take one end of a pipe cleaner and attach a piece of string to it. Then attach the other end of the string to the pencil.
3. Carefully fill the jar with the boiling water. Keep track of how many cups of water you use to fill the jar. (Do this entire step with adult supervision or let an adult do this part.)
4. For each cup of water that is in the jar, add three tablespoons of borax. Then, stir until most or all of the borax has dissolved into the water.
5. Put the star into jar and let the pencil rest on the edges of the jar.
6. Leave the star overnight and in the morning you should have a beautiful snowflake!

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