With a virtually unlimited supply of different samples of sand available for collection, it does not take long before storage and display space can start to become an issue. Even when collecting relatively small individual samples, when you add up the total amount of space required, it can become an problem for many collectors, particularly for those with limited space and resources.

My own collection is based in each sample being held in clear 100 mm x 16 mm polystyrene test tubes, these being stored inside a custom-built drawer cabinet with 15 drawers, enough to hold around 1500 samples. Fortunately, I have a large shed with enough space for many times this amount. However, I did give some thought when I started collecting about collecting the minimum amount of sand possible while still being able to view and display the samples. Here are some of my thoughts, some of which might be of interest.

The first thing I did was to source a reliable supply of very small containers to display the samples and I came up with a number of options. The first was 50 x 50 mm self-seal polythene bags. These would hold about 10 ml of sand - that's roughly a third the volume of a standard 35 mm film canister - and large quantities of these bags would not take up a lot of storage or display space. With write-on panels they are also ideal for labelling your samples. The main drawback is that they are rather flimsy and easily damaged.

Should you decide to use 50 x 50 mm self-sealing polythene bags you can store these inside the pockets of a coin collecting or photographic slide album - which can be easily housed in a normal bookcase. This method also allows you to easily catalogue and index your collection. The album method is one of the easiest ways to store, display and view a sand collection.

The next item I came across were small glass bottles measuring 12 mm in diameter x 50 mm long and with a capacity of 4 ml. They are just large enough to view the sample and come supplied inside a cardboard box with each bottle safely housed in it's own small compartment - an ideal final storage method. Many laboratory equipment suppliers also carry hinged plastic storage boxes that will take this size of bottle. There are also various similar bottles and tubes available around this size.

There are a number of benefits to micro-collecting. As mentioned above storage and display requirements are minimal and ideally suited to a small flat or apartment. For example, 100 bottles of sand as mentioned above takes up an area less than 150 x 150 mm, 1000 bottles correspondingly takes up only 10 times than area, roughly 750 mm x 300 mm. You could house a collection of 50,000 sample in a single chest of drawers!

Another way to form a readily accessible micro collection of sand samples is to create sand slides. These are essentially small squares of card or a similar material with sand glued to the card. These can be stored and displayed inside the clear plastic pockets found in the pages of coin collecting albums. Creating a sand album is an ideal method for collectors who are short on space.

Esperton Sand Pit, Midlothian