 Peer across the landscape of physics research today and you'll quickly find that one of the most vibrant areas lies here, in the study of quantum materials. They are held by many as the stepping stone toward quantum computing and the frontier of new and exciting physics. But what are quantum materials? What makes them so special? And how close are we really to making them work for us? All matter is ultimately described by quantum mechanics. Yes, strange as it sounds, the same mathematical treatment physicists used to grasp the motion of electrons can be applied to large objects as well. But at the scale at which we live and breathe, quantum effects are usually negligible. Classical descriptions make a lot more intuitive sense, and for most materials, these descriptions are good enough to explain electronic and magnetic behaviour down to the nanoscale. But the exotic properties of certain materials demand a quantum explanation. These quirky substances are dubbed quantum materials. Quantum materials come in a variety of compositions, from ceramics like lanthanum copper oxides to two-dimensional sheets of atoms like graphene. But one feature they tend to share, and what gives rise to their strange properties, is confinement of electrons along one or more dimensions. This geometrical constraint enables electrons to act collectively rather than independently. Bunched electrons give rise to fascinating and much different behaviour than their stand-alone versions like superconductivity and the formation of seemingly impossible magnets with only a north or south pole. For physicists, some of these quasi-particle electron bunches are quite familiar because they're analogues of subatomic particles predicted by some exotic theories and which could be made only through the use of atom smashes like the Large Hadron Collider. And that's what makes the study of quantum materials so special. They provide a new laboratory for exploring fundamental physics, while at the same time pushing the limits of applied material science. Consider graphene, for example. Looking beyond its unique ability to shuttle electrons to and fro as if they carried no mass and its incredibly high tensile strength, graphene is, all at once, a work of condensed matter physics, of particle physics, and of material science and engineering. Practically, quantum materials like graphene could one day help scientists and engineers devise more powerful electronic devices and even the all-quantum computer. The biggest contribution quantum materials offer today, however, may be less tangible, so just as promising, bringing different reaches of science closer together.