The A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum, currently located on the campus of

Michigan Technological University Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...

Houghton, Michigan Houghton (; ) is the largest city and seat of government of Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located on the Keweenaw Peninsula, Houghton is the largest city in the Copper Country region. It is the fifth-largest city in the Uppe ...

, is the official mineral museum of the state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and is a heritage site of the

Keweenaw National Historical Park Keweenaw National Historical Park is a unit of the U.S. National Park Service. Established in 1992, the park celebrates the life and history of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2009, it is a p ...

. 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. The mineral collection was established in the 19th century, and by 1890 numbered 27,000 specimens. The museum currently houses over 25,000 specimens from around the world. Many of these specimens are native generally to Michigan, and more specifically to the

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

region. The Copper Pavilion just outside is home to the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

holder for largest boulder of copper weighing 19 tons and pulled from the bottom of Lake Superior.

History

The mineral museum first became a reality in 1902, when it was set up in the former Qualitative Laboratory room in Hubbell Hall on Michigan Tech's campus. In 1908, a separate building (which would later become Tech's Administration Building) was constructed for the museum. The museum fully occupied the second floor of the building. In 1931, the museum was moved to Hotchkiss Hall. The museum was renamed the ''A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum'' in 1932. On June 17, 1976 the museum moved to the fifth floor of the Electrical Energy Resource Center at Michigan Tech, built on the site of Hotchkiss Hall. The museum was designated the "official Mineralogical Museum of Michigan" in 1990 by the

Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ...

. In 2005, Michigan Tech purchased the blacksmith shop and machine shop buildings at the

Quincy Mine The Quincy Mine is an extensive set of copper mines located near Hancock, Michigan. The mine was owned by the Quincy Mining Company and operated between 1846 and 1945, although some activities continued through the 1970s. The Quincy Mine was know ...

site, with the intent of moving the museum there. 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. In 2011, the museum moved to the new Thomas D Shaffner Hall, across from the

Advanced Technology Development Complex Michigan Technological University's campus sits on 925 acres (374 ha) on a bluff overlooking Portage Lake. Campuses and buildings The main Michigan Tech campus is located mainly on US 41 in Houghton, Michigan. It is the safest campus in Mich ...

. It is named for Thomas Shaffner, a Michigan Tech alumnus who donated $1 million for the new museum.

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:

Publications

References

External links

Official webpageSociety of Mineral Museum Professionals (SMMP)
{{authority control

Seaman Seaman may refer to: * Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew * Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies * Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name) * ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...

Michigan Technological University

Seaman Mineral Seaman Mineral Seaman Mineral Seaman Mineral Museums established in 1902 1902 establishments in Michigan Seaman Mineral