Preserve a snowflake for years

Popular Science has an article on how to catch, photograph, and keep snowflakes using superglue.

frozensnowflake.jpg

  1. Set microscope slides, coverslips and superglue outside when it’s 20°F or colder to chill them. Catch flakes on the slides or pick them up with cold tweezers.
  2. Place a drop of superglue on the snowflake. Note: Gel glue doesn’t work. Find a brand that’s thin and runny.
  3. Drop a coverslip over the glue. Don’t press down hard or the flake could tear or melt from the heat of your finger.
  4. Leave the slide in a freezer for one or two weeks and don’t touch it with warm hands. The glue must completely harden before the snowflake warms up.

[tags]Snowflake, Popular Science[/tags]