Smash Your Own Geode Kit

Regular
$19.00
Sale
$19.00
Regular
Sold Out
Unit Price
per 
Shipping calculated at checkout.
SKU 999528

Contents

  • 4 geodes (about 2" diameter)
  • 1 sock
  • 1 pair of plastic safety glasses (fits larger kids to smaller adults)
  • Instruction sheet
  • Not included - hammer, and optional flat-head screw driver.

 Adult supervision required.

____________

Smashing things can be lots of fun, especially if it helps to solve a mystery.  Geodes are one of Nature’s mysteries - what’s inside these spherical, dirty looking rocks?

There are clues - try picking up one, and picking up a rock about the same size.  The rock will probably be heavier.  Could it be that the inside of the geode is partly hollow?

One way to find out is to break the geode open.  This can be done carefully with a tile or rock saw, or with a hammer or other heavy object.  Once the geode is opened up, you’ll see crystals lining the outer, rocky shell of the geode.  These crystals look sparkly as light reflects off the many crystal faces.

Every geode is different - some are bigger, some smaller.  Some have lots of empty space inside, and some have hardly any space.  The crystals can be different sizes and colors, too.  

About Geodes 

Geodes consist mostly of the mineral quartz.  If you use a strong magnifying glass or loupe to look at the crystals lining the geode, you may be able to see that each has a pointy end, with six sides.  If you try to scratch a penny with these crystals, it should dig a groove in the penny - quartz is harder than the penny, one of its identifying properties. 

Geodes form in cavities in rocks.  Over long periods of time (thousands of years or more) water that has slowly seeped through the rocks drips into the cavity.  The water is rich in silica, and when it sits in one place for a while microscopic crystals starts to grow as the water evaporates.  Slowly the hollow space is lined with microscopic crystals of quartz.  This material is usually called agate, and is clear to translucent white to grey, or sometimes reddish or black.  IThe last layers to grow inside the geode are usually larger crystals.  They grow into beautiful shapes because they have open space.  Usually these are crystals of the mineral quartz.