Dear 1st graders,

I love bright, snowy days. That’s when you’ll find me building snowcats, throwing snowballs and watching the sun sparkle on the freshly fallen snow.

I asked my friend Von Walden why that sparkle happens. He’s an atmospheric scientist at Washington State University. Some of his research takes place near the North Pole and the South Pole.

He told me that snow sparkles because of the way snowflakes interact with the sun.

It turns out snowflakes are ice crystals. On Earth, snowflakes are hexagonal. That means they’re crystals with six sides.

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