Friday, January 17, 2014

Symmetrical Snowflakes


 Last week I had snow on my mind. Unfortunately we didn't have any on the ground. Even though we couldn't actually see any snow, I thought it would be fun to learn about snow. My favorite thing to do in snow season is talk learn about Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley. He was such a cool guy!

We read his biography in class and learned that he loved snow and was the first person to successfully photograph snowflakes. We learned of his persistence and trials while doing what he was passionate about. 

We also looked at some of his photographs. It is amazing what snowflakes look at up close! They really are amazing little creations. 

The children collected information about Snowflake Bentley and completed a writing exercise where they wrote their own biography of Snowflake Bentley.



Today we made our own edible snowflakes for Munchie Math. We looked carefully at some of Snowflake Bentley's photographs and saw the the snowflakes all seemed to have one thing in common. Each one had a hexagon at its center and symmetrical sides coming out from that.

Our first task was to make a hexagon. How many sides should it have? How many toothpicks would you need?




After we made our hexagons, the children could add whatever flair to their snowflakes that they wanted. The only catch was that their sides had to all be the same. 

Here are their great examples of snowflake symmetry!

















Now if only we could get some snow actually on the ground, I'd be a happy camper!!!

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