This week in science, the Flexible Foxes class connected seasonal changes to a fun, STEAM activity:

Topic: Exploration of symmetry and geometry using paper snowflakes.

Context: Discussions about the cold weather, the transition from autumn to winter, and the hope for real snow.

Science Concepts:

Snowflakes originate from frozen water crystals in clouds.

No two are exactly alike.

They are symmetrical and consistently have six sides or points.

Activity: Students learned the process of folding a round piece of paper (a coffee filter) to create a six-sided base, followed by shaping and cutting their own unique snowflake designs.

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Folding the Paper

The folding process is crucial for symmetry, as real snowflakes have a six-sided structure.

Start with a circle.

Fold in half diagonally. Fold your piece of paper in half to make a semi-circle (“a taco!”)

Fold in half again. Fold the large semi-circle in half again to create a triangle (“a pizza!”.

Fold into thirds (the “six-point” fold).

Fold the triangle in half again to create a smaller triangle (“an ice cream cone!”)

Note: Can you fold in half again?

Cutting the Design

Cut shapes along the edges. With the paper still folded, use your scissors to cut small shapes (triangles, curves, angles, swirls, etc.) from all sides of the folded paper.

Tip: Be careful not to cut all the way from one folded edge to the other, or your snowflake will fall into separate pieces.

Experiment. Half the fun is trying out different patterns and seeing the result. No two snowflakes are alike, so creativity is encouraged.

Interesting note: Snowflakes are fundamentally six-sided because water molecules form a hexagonal structure when they freeze. However, climate change is leading to more irregular shapes by creating more fluctuating temperatures and higher moisture levels in the atmosphere during their descent, disrupting their uniform growth.