Do you like catching snowflakes on your tongue?

Before you try it you should know when you eat a snowflake, you're also eating dust.

What is snow made out of?

It starts with a tiny particle of dust or pollen or something else.

Small and solid, but light enough to float up in the atmosphere.

If it's cold enough and moist enough up there, water vapor can attach and freeze to the tiny particle, and ice crystals form.

These ice crystals bump into other crystals and it increases in size.

Eventually the particle is too heavy to stay up and it starts to fall to earth, bumping and growing as it goes all the way down to your tongue.

Or more likely the ground.

The exact type and shape of a snowflake depends on the weather and moisture conditions, and it's true that no two snowflakes are exactly alike because they all tak different paths to the ground.

Because snow is made out of water, it's translucent, meaning you can see through it, but not super clearly.

When the light reflects off the snow, it reflects all the colors to our eyes, making the snow appear white and sparkly.

Scientists call this snow sparkle.

Did you know that it can snow in tropical regions too?

Snow can form at high elevations where it's often much colder, which is how you can find snow on high mountains even near the equator.

No matter how snow forms, it sure is fun to play with.

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