Snowflakes form through a process of self-assembly on a nanoscale level. The molecular structure of ice crystals causes snowflakes to develop their characteristic six-sided shape. While snowflakes can take on many different formations, their exact shape depends on temperature and humidity levels during formation.

1. SNOWFLAKES Nano at its coolest!

2. What do you know about snow?

3. What do you wonder about snow?

5. When does it snow?

9. Why do snowflakes have six sides?

12. Shape is determined by molecular structure Basic shapes of snowflakes Molecular structure of ice crystals

13. Is every snowflake different?

14. Snowflakes have many shapes

15. Type depends on temperature and humidity

21. Snowflakes and nano, in the future New ways to build tiny, nano-sized structures

22. Snowflakes and nano, right now! Ice crystals self-assemble inside the museum

24. Image sources Courtesy of Kenneth Libbrecht, www.snowcrystals.com

25. Image sources (continued) iStockphoto.com Courtesy of NOAA National Weather Service Collection Courtesy of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Courtesy of IBM

26. This project was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. ESI-0532536. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.