3rd Grade
Snowflakes....
Wilson Bentley was born on February 9, 1865 in the town of Jericho, Vermont, A farmer by trade, he attracted world attention with his pioneering work in the area of photomicrography. Most notable in his life long work with rain, dew and frost, was his extensive work with snowflakes. On January 15, 1885 he became the first person to photograph a single snow crystal. He would go on to photograph well over 5000 snow crystals (never finding two the same), and his documentation of this work advanced the study of meteorology in his time. His photomicrographs were acquired by institutes of higher learning all over the world and his writings on these subjects were published in many journals and magazines including Scientific American, National Geographic and The National Weather Service Research Journal. In November of 1931, his book “Snow Crystals” was published by McGraw/Hill and is still in print today. Shortly after, on December 23, 1931, Wilson Bentley died at the family farmhouse in Jericho where he lived his entire life. Because of his wonderful work with snow crystals, he became affectionately know as “Snowflake” Bentley.
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The Science behind snowflakes is amazing!
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Assignment: Using a white colored pencil, or crayon, create a snowflake (or many) that is unique to you. Use your new knowledge to create one in the likeness of what you think they would look like. Make sure your snowflake is Symmetrical, which means it's the same on both sides (as all snowflakes are). It will work best if you make your white snowflake on black or dark blue construction paper.
It might be helpful to start with an X and then draw a vertical line through that X. Now add your next shape between each line... or ON each line.. and go from there.
Here are some photographs of some snowflakes to get your started.
You can practice making snowflakes first by using this website.... it's super cool!
Website link is connected to the picture below... just click on the picture.