(Click on image to enlarge: Source: Snowcrystals.com & Livescience.com)
“Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind.” Wilson Bentley
Wilson Bentley (1865-1931) was a Vermont farmer in the 1800s who decided to use simple photographic equipment and the natural light of the overcast sky to photograph over 5,000 snowflakes.
Even in colder climates, there is a sense of magic when the first snowfall falls. Now snowflakes can even be created in a laboratory (click here), as seen in this snowflake growing time-lapse movie of a growing snow crystal.
…and who can forget the exciting discoveries made when children learn to cut out a snowflake for the first time? Now you can even create snowflakes online.
A search for snowflakes in photo databases brings up all kinds of delightful results.
Here Comes Suzy Snowflake is a charming 1950s song (and movie) that reminds us of how delicate and beautiful a snowflake really is.
