Cool Science Festival Provides a Nice Clear Quartz Crystal for my Collection

By Reed Noller

This article is on a quartz crystal I received at the Cool Science Festival held at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs on October 20, 2012. It is a very popular event that lots of young people attend in order to learn about science.

Quartz is a compound that is made up of silicon and oxygen. Quartz crystals grow with six sides. I think that quartz crystals are pleasing to the eye. Quartz crystals come in different shapes, sizes, and colors.

 

My quartz crystal looks like a castle to me. I took a photograph of it with a digital microscope that shows two smaller crystals that grew on a larger one. The quartz crystal in my photograph is about2.25 long in centimeters. The crystal is about 1.5 centimeters wide and weighs about 3 grams.

Image of clear quartz crystal. Reed Noller collection.
Photomicrograph by Reed Noller.

In conclusion, I received the quartz crystal at the Cool Science Festival, learned that quartz crystals come in different shapes, sizes, and colors. Quartz crystals are eye catching and they are an important part of mineral collections, including my own.

Author bio: Reed Noller is 11 years old and in 5th grade. His favorite subject in school is Art, and he attends his school art club. Outside of school, Reed loves to play hockey and learn about rocks in the Colorado Springs Pebble Pups. Reed has helped on several Pebble Pup outreach projects.  He spent the day at Colorado City Founder’s Day and another day at the Cool Science Festival promoting the Pebble Pup program in the Pikes Peak region.