Rocks & Minerals Facts for Kids
Sparkling facts about gems, crystals, and rocks
Diamonds are the hardest natural substance on Earth — the only thing that can scratch a diamond is another diamond.
Rubies and sapphires are both made from the same mineral — corundum — but different trace elements give them their different colours.
Fool's gold (pyrite) can actually contain tiny amounts of real gold trapped inside it.
Some opals contain up to 20% water, permanently trapped inside the stone.
Obsidian is volcanic glass — it forms when lava cools so quickly there is no time for crystals to grow.
Some meteorites contain tiny diamonds formed billions of years ago in outer space, before our solar system existed.
The mineral halite is better known as table salt — it forms naturally in cube-shaped crystals.
Limestone is made almost entirely from the shells and skeletons of ancient sea creatures that lived millions of years ago.
Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth's continental crust and is found in almost every type of rock.
The Hope Diamond is one of the world's most famous gems — it is blue because of trace amounts of boron, and it glows red under ultraviolet light.