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Making Maths: Snowflakes



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Making Maths: Snowflakes

One of the marvels of nature is that the tiny ice crystals in snowflakes form a shape with six lines of symmetry. It is actually quite hard to cut out a paper snowflake with six perfect lines of symmetry, but it's a lot of fun to try!


Here's one way to make a snowflake ...


You will need:
  • A sheet of paper (you could start with scrap paper until you create the kind of snowflake you want)
  • Pencil
  • Scissors
  • Glitter (optional)
What to do:
 
1. Start with a circle of paper (trace around a lid or a bowl). Fold the circle in half, then half again - just to find the centre of the circle. Then open it back out to a half-circle.


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Making Maths: Snowflakes


2. Now you have to fold the half-circle into three parts, with a point at the centre of the circle. It's a little bit tricky to get the three parts the same size, so take care.

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Making Maths: Snowflakes


3. Now cut away pieces from the folded sides, and from the curved edge as well. Open it out - and there's a snowflake. Maybe you could add some glitter to make them sparkle. Have fun!