How do snowflakes grow into their individual shapes? It starts with a speck of dust. (Another non-biological thing that “wants” to grow!)

Formation of snowflakes from their origins in bits of dust in clouds that become droplets of water falling to Earth. When the droplets cool, six crystal faces form because water molecules bond in hexagonal networks when they freeze.

Ice crystals grow fastest at the corners between the faces, fostering development of the six branches that exist in most snowflakes. As snowflakes continue to develop, the branches can spread, grow long and pointy, or branch off into new arms.

As each snowflake rises and falls through warmer and cooler air, it develops its own distinctive shape.

Via Bytesize Science