We are surrounded by snow and snow is made up of tiny ice crystals called snowflakes and we think snowflakes are amazing!
It all starts with tiny dirt and water particles in the clouds. The water collides with the dirt and freezes into a tiny hexagon. This is called diamond dust.
As the crystals fall to the earth, they bump into water molecules and they grow on the hexagon corners. The hexagon either stays as a plate crystal or it grows 6 "arms" depending on the humidity and temperature as the it falls. The humidity and temperature change as the crystal falls. This is why some snowflakes have a large disk with short arms and others have a small center disk and long arms and some have no arms at all.
Snowflakes are generally six-sided because of the way hydrogen and oxygen molecules attach to eachother. Once in a while, you will get a twelve point snowflake.
There are also needles and columns that can form when the humidity and temperature are just right.
These amazing science wonders are cloaked in beauty!