| Colossal Crystals brings together an assortment of giants in the Gillespie Museum’s collections. On one end of the spectrum are true titans due to their sheer size: the six-foot-tall amethyst vug, a 200-pound feldspar crystal, and the largest natural blue topaz crystal on display anywhere in the world. Colossal Crystals also showcases some of the Museum’s largest examples of various mineral types, such as grossular garnet, rhodochrosite, and fluorite. Complementing these huge crystals are superlatives for their species, not objectively large, but large beside others of their kind. Among these small giants are specimens of arsenopyrite, legrandite, chrysoberyl, and several more. These crystals remind us that what makes something large or rare is relative. The Gillespie Museum is home to several of the largest known crystals of their kind, like the 128-pound cubic galena crystal. It also houses some crystals that once held such records before further discoveries were made. As you explore the exhibit, you’ll read about other colossal specimens found across the planet. |
