How to make a perfect snowflake

No two snowflakes are alike, but do all have one thing in common — perfect sixfold radial symmetry.

It sounds complicated, but all that really means is if you divided any snowflake into six equal parts, each part would be exactly the same. Lots of items in nature have symmetry, including many flowers, pine cones and even our own faces.

How does every single snowflake manage to have this symmetry and still be unique? It has to do with how a snowflake is formed.

Snowflakes form very slowly inside of clouds and, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, they begin to take shape when water vapor gets cold enough to begin becoming a solid. That solid is a crystal, and the shapes of these tiny crystals differ depending on the slightest change in temperature and humidity in the air. Even a millisecond of difference changes a snowflake's shape.

Those ever-changing conditions help explain how each snowflake is unique and special — no two are formed under the exact same conditions.

The same can be said, too, for snowflakes we can make out of paper. Make a few of those frosty crafts and tweak the patterns you cut out each time, to test how even small changes can make a big difference to your final product.

What you need:

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A piece of paper

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Scissors (and a grown-up for help)

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Something heavy and flat, like a book

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A protractor (optional)

1. To make a perfect snowflake, first we need a perfect square. To do this, fold one corner of a piece of printer paper diagonally so it meets the other side, creating a long rectangle on the side. Cut off the rectangle.

2. Fold the square diagonally in half again. Then fold it in half a third time.

3. If you have a protractor, use it to draw two lines at a 30 degree angle. If not, estimate where to draw two lines that will split the triangle into three equal parts. Fold in along those lines.

4. Turn over your paper, and cut off the two points you're created.

5. Keeping your paper folded, cut small shapes out of your paper — triangles, squares, rectangles, whatever you want.

6. Carefully unfold your paper, and put a heavy book on top to flatten it out.

7. After 15 minutes, check out your snowflake! It should have perfect sixfold symmetry. Tape it to your window or hang it up wherever you like.

Comments: molly.duffy@thegazette.com