All About Snow - the Science, Books, Crafts, Video and More for All Ages

In 1885, Wilson Bentley became the first person to photograph the microscopic beauty of the snowflake. What do snowflakes look like? Snowflakes always have six sides. Both the form and shape of a snowflake depends on the temperature and moisture content of the cloud. Snowflakes can be categorized into six main types, plate (flat), column, stars, dendrite (lacy, needle, and capped column. When it is extremely cold the snow is very fine and powdery and snowflakes become quite simple in design, usually needle or rod shaped. When the temperature is near to freezing point (0 degrees Celsius), snowflakes become much larger and a lot more complex in design, for example, a star. The world's larges snowflake ever recorded was 38 cm wide and 20 cm thick. This snowflake occurred at Fort Keogh, Montana, USA on 28 January 1887.

The Basics behind Snow:
Snow Crystal Primer
Are any 2 alike?

Books about snow:
Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft & Richard Van Gelder
The Big Snow by Berta Hader, Elmer Hader
The Day Daddy Stayed Home by Ethel & Leonard Kessler
Dream Snow by Eric Carle
The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel
Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton
The Mitten by Jan Brett
Snow by Uri Shulevitz
The Snow Child by Freya Littledale
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Book about Wilson Bently:

Snowflake Bentley (Caldecott Medal Book) (Buy)
Author: Jacqueline Briggs Martin
From the time he was a small boy, Wilson Bentley saw snowflakes as small miracles. And he determined that one day his camera would capture for others the wonder of the tiny crystal. Bentley's enthusiasm for photographing snowflakes was often misunderstood in his time, but his patience and determination revealed two important truths: no two snowflakes are alike; and each one is startlingly beautiful. His story is gracefully told and brought to life in lovely woodcuts, giving children insight into a soul who had not only a scientist's vision and perseverance but a clear passion for the wonders of nature. "Of all the forms of water the tiny six-pointed crystals of ice called snow are incomparably the most beautiful and varied." -- Wilson Bentley.

Snow Science:
Grow your own Snow Crystals
Crystal Pops
The Big Meltdown

Crafts:
Create a Snow Globe
Paper plate Snowman
Ice Hangings

Want to see a video of how to make the perfect snow flake or see actual photographs of snowflakes? Click here!