Of all the forms of water the tiny sixpointed crystals of ice called snow are incomparably the most beautiful and varied. Wilson alwyn bentley february 9, 1865 december 23, 1931 was the first known photographer of snowflakes. Snowflake bentley by jacqueline briggs martin, mary. Humphreys on a book, snow crystals, illustrated with 2,500 of snowflake s snowflakes. He had a keen interested in photography, as well as snow crystals.
Was ever a life history written in more dainty or fairylike hiero. Bentley donated his collection of original glassplate photomicrographs of snow crystals to the buffalo museum of science. Bentley took the time and had the persistence to photograph so many snow crystals they truly are intricate and gorgeous with so many designs the beautiful, magical, breathtaking artwork of god that fills the soul with wonder and awe. Snow crystals an exhibit of photomicrographs by wilson a.
From the time he was a small boy in vermont, wilson bentley saw snowflakes as small miracles. By going to the articles section, you will find a number of articles by and about bentley. Wilson also released his book snow crystals in 1931, with 2000 of his photographs. Usa todays, the basic shapes of snow crystals a discussion about how as snow crystals form they take on a sixsided, or hexagonal shape with what seems like an infinite number of varieties. A portion of this collection has been digitized and organized into a digital library. Wilson alwyn bentley 18651931, famous for his photomicrographs of snowflakes, prepared sets of glass lantern slides of dew, frost and ice crystals. Libbrecht notes that the techniques used by bentley to photograph snowflakes are essentially the same as those used today. Portrait of wilson bentley wilson bentley was born in 1865, and grew up in a rural town in vermont. As a youngster, he was so taken with these little sixsided ice crystals that his parents scraped together their savings to buy him a camera with a microscope. The first ever photographs of snowflakes wilson a bentley the first ever photographs of snowflakes wilson a bentley. How historys first photos of snowflakes were made written by stella ko, cnn in 1885, american farmer wilson bentley attached a camera to his microscope and took what is believed.
Wilson bentley devoted his life to photographing snowflakes under a microscope revealing their scientific importance and unmatched beauty. Bentleys original glass slide photographs of snow crystals, and includes dynamic resources to further an appreciation and understanding of bentley and his work. Great short news story on snowflake bentley book, movie, experiment and microscopes wcrystals wilson bentley the snowflake man very cool video for snowflake bentley in volume 4 snow flakes are amazing unit study. Bentley presented by the schwerdtfeger library space science and engineering center, uwmadison the major scientific publications of wilson a. A nonfiction unit all about snow and snowflakessnowflake bentley book companion includes. A digital library providing a highquality collection of stunning, unretouched images of wilson a. Wilson bentley brought the beauty of snow crystals to the public using a technique called photomicrography.
Many of these sets found their way to colleges and universities around the united states. What better way to learn about crystals than to grow them. This book brought the beauty and wonder of the vermont snow to people all over the world. The book snowflake bentley tells the story of a determined boy, william bentley, and his curiosity for ice crystals. Wilson bentley 18651931 from the time he was a small boy in vermont, wilson bentley saw snowflakes as small miracles. Blanchard the snowflake man is a biography of wilson bentley, a farmer from jericho, vermont, who spent a lifetime studying the beauty and science of snow crystals. Horn book wilson bentley was fascinated by snow, in childhood and adulthood, and, practically speaking, is the one who discovered snow crystals, by photographing them in all their variation. Sources for the factual material are credited, and a final page features photographs of bentley at work and three of his actual snowflake slides. Over 2,000 beautiful crystals on these pages reveal the wonder of natures diversity in uniformity. Bentley first published 1931 sort by title original date published date published avg rating num ratings format format paperback hardcover mass market paperback kindle edition nook ebook library binding audiobook audio cd audio cassette audible audio cdrom mp3 cd board book leather bound unbound spiralbound unknown binding. Wilson bentley refined his photography, capturing the images of thousands of snowflakes, no two alike. Five hundred of his snowflake photos now reside in the smithsonian. When i began my own snow crystal study back in 2003, i checked out his book, snow crystals, from the university of delaware.
Published in 1998, the book the snowflake man, by duncan blanchard, is the quintessential biography of bentley. The man who uncovered the secret lives of snowflakes the. The first ever photographs of snowflakes wilson a bentley. In this lesson, learn about wilson bentley, the first person to photograph snowflakes. By age sixtysix with the help of other scientists, bentley had his pictures made into a book called snow crystals. Bill nye the science guy writer lynn brunelle and dads book of awesome science experiments author mike adamick share fun science experiments parents and kids can do at.
Media in category wilson bentley snow crystals the following 3 files are in this category, out of 3 total. Bentley related web sites making paper snowflakes snow activities the major scientific publications of wilson a. That book was where i first got introduced to snowflake bentley. How to collect, preserve, and make snowflakes science friday. Homeschooling today magazine snowflake bentley unit study. For over forty years, wilson snowflake bentley 18651931 photographed thousands of individual snowflakes and perfected the innovative photomicrographic techniques. A short documentary about snowflake bentley wilson a. This discovery was made by a man named wilson bentley, a farmer from vermont, who became affectionately known as snowflake bentley. He donated his collection of photomicrographs of snow crystals to the buffalo museum of science. Bentley 18651931, the first man to ever photograph a snowflake. And he determined that one day his camera would capture for others the wonder of the tiny crystal. How to do a homeschool snowflake unit study natureglos. If you want to know how this book was something special to look into at our house, check out the childrens book snowflake bentley, the story of this remarkable.
This is a great book to introduce a unit on diversity. The blackandwhite prints of these intricate starlike crystals, each approximately 3 square inches, had been made at the turn of the 20th century by wilson alwyn bentley of jericho, vermont, whose work was introduced to. Three centuries later the most extensive catalog of its time was made by the vermont farmer wilson bentley, who published the book snow crystals with william humphreys in 1931. Homeschool share offers a free lapbook to go along with this book and is where i found all the minibooks we used. He tried to draw what he saw through an old microscope given to him by his mother when he was fifteen. Bentley s snowflakes cdrom and book dover electronic clip art by w. As each snowflake rises and falls through warmer and cooler air, it thus develops its own distinctive shape. Finally, in 1931, he collaborated with meteorologist william j. During his lifetime, bentley photographed more than 5,000 snow crystals and his innovative images of thempublished in magazines including national geographic, popular science, and scientific americanbecame so iconic that he was nicknamed snowflake bentley. Jericho was an ideal place to study snow because it was in the heart of the snowbelt, producing an average annual snowfall of over 120 inches. It shows his incredible work and the most amazing snowflake images that one has ever seen. An interactive look into bentleys snowflakes and lifes work can be found on the wilson bentley digital archives cdrom.
The introductory text covers the technique of photographing snow crystals, classification. Its illustrated with 2,500 of his remarkable snowflake. Fun facts about snowflakes how to make science projects. Flakes and crystals science reference section science, technology, and business division. Bentleys original glass slide photographs of snow crystals, and includes dynamic resources to further an.
Wilson alwyn bentley, known to his family as willie, was born on the. Images from the national historical weather service weather wonders album includes studies among snow crystals. And heres a great book on the amazing snowflake photographer wilson bentley. At the age of sixtysix, a book of his work was published.
Wilson bentleys snowflakes science is art is science. Wilson bentley is affectionately known as snowflake bentley today, because of his incredible success with photographing these delicate wonders of nature. Includes a number of articles by and about wilson bentley and links to. Wilson bentley was fascinated by snow, in childhood and adulthood, and, practically speaking, is the one who discovered snow crystals, by photographing them in all their variation. We also perused the thousands of images in wilson bentleys original book, snow crystals. Heres all the science behind earths favorite cold crystal. He perfected a process of catching flakes on black velvet in such a way that their images could be captured before they either melted or sublimated kenneth g. Snow and ice crystals university of colorado boulder. Two of my favorite snow themed units bundled together for savings. This amazing book was written by wilson bentley snowflake bentley. It is done in only black and white as this book was published in the 1900s. He first became interested in snow crystals as a teenager on his family farm. In 1931, the book snow crystalsfeaturing 2,500 of his photographs and.
Bentley was born on february 7, 1865, in jericho, vermont. Sadly it was the last book he wrote before he died. Wilson bentleys pioneering 19thcentury photomicroscopy of snow crystals the quest to capture natures vanishing masterpieces, endowed with the delicacy of flowers and the mathematical precision of honeycombs. Wilson willie bentley 18651931 was born on a farm in jericho, vermont. Background wilson bentley was born on febreary 9, 1865, on the ancestral farm at jericho, vermont, united states, the youngest son of thomas edwin bentley, a farmer, who died in 1886, and fannie eliza colton bentley, who lived until 1906. Snowflake bentley read aloud youtube read aloud of. About the bentley collection schwerdtfeger library home. From the earliest days of our childhood, many of us can remember hearing the phrase no two snowflakes are alike. The university of wisconsins department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences donated their collection to the schwerdtfeger library in 2000. Wilson bentley is still known as an expert on snowflakes, and made history with his love for snow. Bentleys original glass slide photographs of snow crystals. Details about his life, techniques of photomicrography, and a virtual tour.
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