A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum

Technopedia Center

Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science
S1 Informatics S1 Information Systems S1 Information Technology S1 Computer Engineering S1 Electrical Engineering S1 Civil Engineering

faculty of Economics and Business
S1 Management S1 Accountancy

Faculty of Letters and Educational Sciences
S1 English literature S1 English language education S1 Mathematics education S1 Sports Education

A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 47°06′39″N 88°33′09″W / 47.1108°N 88.5526°W

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum)

A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum
Thomas D Shaffner Hall, home to the museum as of 2011

Established	1902 (1902)
Location	Houghton, Michigan
Coordinates	47°06′39″N 88°33′09″W / 47.1108°N 88.5526°W / 47.1108; -88.5526
Type	Museum
Director	John A. Jaszczak
Curator	John A. Jaszczak
Owner	Michigan Technological University
Website	www.museum.mtu.edu

The A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum, currently located on the campus of Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan, is the official mineral museum of the state of Michigan and is a heritage site of the Keweenaw National Historical Park.^[1] The museum is named for professor Arthur Edmund Seaman, who worked at Michigan Tech in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was the museum's curator from 1928 until 1937.^[2]

The mineral collection was established in the 19th century, and by 1890 numbered 27,000 specimens.^[2] The museum currently houses over 36,000 specimens from around the world.^[1] Many of these specimens are native generally to Michigan, and more specifically to the Lake Superior region. The Copper Pavilion just outside is home to the Guinness World Record holder for largest boulder of copper weighing 19 tons and pulled from the bottom of Lake Superior.^[3]

History

Silver-copper mineral specimen from Wolverine Mine, Houghton County, Michigan, formerly in the Seaman Museum collections. Size: 5.6 x 2.8 x 3.2 cm.

The mineral museum first became a reality in 1902, when it was set up in the former Qualitative Laboratory room in Hubbell Hall^[2] on Michigan Tech's campus. In 1908, a separate building (which would later become Tech's Administration Building) was constructed for the museum.^[2] The museum fully occupied the second floor of the building. In 1931, the museum was moved to Hotchkiss Hall.^[2]^[4] The museum was renamed the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum in 1932.^[5]

On June 17, 1976 the museum moved to the fifth floor of the Electrical Energy Resource Center at Michigan Tech,^[6] built on the site of Hotchkiss Hall. The museum was designated the "official Mineralogical Museum of Michigan" in 1990 by the Michigan Legislature.^[7]

In 2005, Michigan Tech purchased the blacksmith shop and machine shop buildings at the Quincy Mine site, with the intent of moving the museum there.^[8]^[9] The roof of the machine shop was replaced, but Tech decided instead to build a new building, and sold the buildings back to the Quincy Mine Hoist Association.^[9] In 2011, the museum moved to the new^[10] Thomas D Shaffner Hall, across from the Advanced Technology Development Complex. It is named for Thomas Shaffner, a Michigan Tech alumnus who donated $1 million for the new museum.^[11] Since 2015 under the Michigan Mineral Alliance, the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum also curates and co-owns the University of Michigan mineral collection.^[12]

Curators

Arthur Edmund Seaman (1928–1937)
Kiril Spiroff (1938–1943, 1964–1975)
Wyllys Seaman (1943–1948)
Jean Peterman Kemp (1975–1986)
Stanley J Dyl II (1986–1996)
George Willard Robinson (1996–2013)
John A. Jaszczak (interim 2013)
Christopher J. Stefano (2013–2019)
Theodore J. Bornhorst (interim 2019–2020)
John A. Jaszczak (2020–present)

Source:^[2]

Publications

Heinrich, E.W.; Robinson, G.W. (February 18, 2010) [2004]. Mineralogy of Michigan by E.W. Heinrich (2nd ed.). Houghton, Michigan: A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum, Michigan Technological University. ISBN 9780974881607.

References

^ ^a ^b "New Seaman Mineral Museum Dedicated". AE Seaman Mineral Museum. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "History". A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
^ "Lake and Float Copper | A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum". museum.mtu.edu. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
^ "Vast Mineral Collection at Tech". The Daily Mining Gazette. Houghton, MI. February 4, 1987 – via Seaman Museum Vertical File, Michigan Tech Archives.^{[full citation needed]}
^ "Seaman Mineral Museum". Michigan Technological University. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
^ "From Farm Boy to World Energy Leader Walker Cisler to Give Dedication Address at MTU". Michigan Tech Today. June 15, 1976 – via EERC Vertical File, Michigan Tech Archives.^{[full citation needed]}
^ "A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum". Pure Michigan. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
^ "Board OK's Land Purchase for Museum". TechAlum News. October 3, 2005. Archived from the original on September 1, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Hauglie, Kurt (June 19, 2015). "Historic buildings seek use". The Daily Mining Gazette. Houghton, MI. Archived from the original on September 1, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
^ "A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum Complex". AE Seaman Museum. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
^ Creager, Ellen (January 8, 2012). "You haven't lived here until ... you've visited the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum at Michigan Tech". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on July 23, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
^ Bornhorst, Theodore J.; Poulsen, Christopher J. (September 3, 2015). "Michigan Mineral Alliance". Rocks & Minerals. 90 (5): 450–453. Bibcode:2015RoMin..90..450B. doi:10.1080/00357529.2015.1059093. ISSN 0035-7529.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum.

v t e Michigan Technological University
Campus	Campus Buildings Sherman Field MacInnes Student Ice Arena Memorial Union Building Mont Ripley Seaman Mineral Museum
Athletics	Blizzard T. Husky Great Lakes Invitational Men's ice hockey Miner's Cup
Student groups	WMTU-FM
Other	Alberta, Michigan Michigan Tech Research Institute Winter Carnival