"It was 7 o’clock at night at the Northland College Geology Lab, and for the past four hours, I had been peering down a microscope, absorbing the stunning images of a rock cut so thinly that light leaked through it. The microscope I had been using magnified the tiny sample hundreds of times, revealing hidden intricacies between grains mere tenths of a millimeter in size. Each view was a tiny stained-glass window. However, magnification alone was not what made this mineral thin section so colorful and vibrant."

Read more about Kali's amazing mineral photography and the research they did while at Northland College in this week's Natural Connections, or listen to the podcast. Both with guest expert Kali Sipp, our recently fledged Museum Naturalist/Geology Intern!