A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum

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]

A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum
Thomas D Shaffner Hall, home to the museum as of 2011
Established1902 (1902)
LocationHoughton, Michigan
Coordinates47.1108°N 88.5526°W / 47.1108; -88.5526
TypeMuseum
DirectorJohn A. Jaszczak
CuratorJohn A. Jaszczak
OwnerMichigan Technological University
Websitewww.museum.mtu.edu

The mineral collection was established in the 19th century, and by 1890 numbered 27,000 specimens.[2] The museum currently houses over 25,000 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
The Quincy Mine machine shop (seen in 2018 with its repaired roof) which was bought in 2005 for the museum
Portrait of Douglass Houghton in the museum
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.
Large display of sheet copper from the White Pine mine at the museum entrance

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]

Curators
  • Arthur Edmund Seaman (1928–1937)
  • Kiril Spiroff (1938–1943, 1964–1975)
  • Wyllis 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
  1. "New Seaman Mineral Museum Dedicated". AE Seaman Mineral Museum. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
  2. "History". A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2011.
  3. "Lake and Float Copper | A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum". museum.mtu.edu. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  4. "Vast Mineral Collection at Tech". The Daily Mining Gazette. Houghton, MI. February 4, 1987 – via Seaman Museum Vertical File, Michigan Tech Archives.
  5. "Seaman Mineral Museum". Michigan Technological University. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
  6. "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.
  7. "A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum". Pure Michigan. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  8. "Board OK's Land Purchase for Museum". TechAlum News. October 3, 2005. Archived from the original on September 1, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  9. 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.
  10. "A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum Complex". AE Seaman Museum. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
  11. 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.
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