The UCCS Geology Club got off to a smashing start with their “Open Your Own Geode” event. This marks the Geology Club’s first event of the 2025-2026 academic year.
Geodes and hammers were provided by the UCCS Geology Club, allowing students to open their own geodes. The Oct. 28 event, which was open to students through Mountain Lion Connect, attracted a crowd of 30 participants.
The group took turns breaking open their geodes to reveal the crystal formations inside. Students were allowed to keep their geodes at the end of the event.
Campbell Curcio, a geography and environmental studies major and president of the Geology Club, said that the event was meant to attract new members and to give students the opportunity to make memories on campus.
“Give them something to take home with them at the end of the day, something to say, ‘yeah, that was my geode, I opened that my freshman or sophomore year’,” Curcio said. The event also served as a way for students to release stress after midterms, Curcio said.
Lana Heath, a data analytics and systems engineering major who attended the event, said the event was a great idea by the Geology Club to spread the word. “This was a very unique opportunity, and I don’t know much about rock formations or geology in general, so I was looking to get to experience that,” Heath said.
The Geology Club was founded in 2014 by Eric Billmeyer, a teaching professor in the geography and environmental studies and geology department. Billmeyer is still involved with the club, alongside assistant teaching professor Jen McLeod as faculty advisor.
The club’s goal is to help its members “build a solid understanding of the physical processes that help to form our wonderful state,” according to the club’s Mountain Lion Connect page. The club hosts annual field trips, workshops and conferences around the state.
The Geology Club is slated to hold a rock painting event on Nov. 18 from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Centennial 115. Spots are limited, and free food will be provided. To RSVP for the event, click here.
A cracked geode. Photo by Anysia Hovel.