Julia Pressnall, age 12, of Wichita, Kan., for her question:

HOW DO SNOWFLAKES FORM THEIR SHAPES?

Scientists say this has something to do with the shape of the basic water molecule. This seems logical, for the shape of a wall has a lot to do with the shape of its basic building blocks. A snowflake is built from zillions of mini ice particles, delicately arranged with zillions of mini air pockets.

The ice is in fragments of frozen water, and the basic water molecules tend to form crystal structures with six sides. Temperature and various other weather conditions cause the tiny ice crystals to cl4.ng together, trapping tiny pockets of air. Naturally the dainty design tends to select six sided arrangements. The possible six sided arrangements are almost endless, which is why every snowflake is different  or so they say.