It’s properly winter in Virginia at this point. Good thing our Snail Mail was prepared! We put together a fun craft to help you celebrate that morning chill…
The Forever Unmelting Snowflake
It’s cold, it looks white, it’s fluffy, it’s sparkly… it’s snow! Did you know each snowflake is formed around a fleck of dust or pollen? If you look closely, each snowflake is a unique shape! The shape is determined by the humidity and temperature outside. Sadly, snowflakes melt quickly in warm temperatures. If only there was a way to make them last long enough to appreciate… a-ha!
Scientists, are you ready to make your own snowflakes to study?
Grab a pair of scissors and a piece of paper and follow these instructions!
Step 1. Take a piece of notebook or printer paper and fold a corner diagonally to meet the opposite edge of the paper. This will form a triangle with some extra paper popping out.
Step 2: Cut that extra paper off the back of the paper. You should be left with a triangle.
Step 3: Fold the triangle in half on the fold line. Make your fold as even as possible.
Step 4: Fold triangle in half again, but then undo that fold so it looks like step 3 but with a crease down the middle.
Step 5: Take the right side of your triangle and fold it so the outer edge lines up with the center crease, then take the other side of it and fold it over halfway. This will create a version of a triangle with tails, almost like a diamond shape.
Step 6: Now you will cut off the tails at the bottom.
Step 7: Fold the other edges in together to make a very narrow triangle.
Step 8: At the bottom cut a small triangle out from the bottom.
Step 9: Along the edges, cut small shapes out. I prefer triangles but you can do whatever you want. If you like, you can cut a shape off of the triangle’s top point!
Step 10: Carefully unfold to reveal your never melting snowflake!