A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum
Encyclopedia
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
. 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 1928-1937.
The mineral collection was established in the 19th century, and by 1890 numbered 27,000 specimens. The museum currently houses over 65,000 specimens from around the world, of which more than 20,000 are on exhibit. Most of these specimens are native generally to Michigan, and more specifically to the Lake Superior
region.
On 17 June 1976 the museum moved to the fifth floor of the Electrical Energy Resource Center at Michigan Tech, built on the site of Hotchkiss Hall. In 2011, the museum moved to a new building, Thomas D Shaffner Hall, across from the Advanced Technology Development Complex.
There are plans to relocate the museum to the Quincy Mine
, another part of the Keweenaw National Historical Park
. The new museum will be located in the renovated Quincy Mine blacksmith and machine shop buildings that are preexisting on the site. The new museum location is larger than its current location and will offer more space to display mineral specimens. There is also room for a sufficient number of parking spaces for visitors to be put on the site. The museum will be located inside the Keweenaw National Historic Park and it will be more visible and accessible to visitors.
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Michigan Technological University
Michigan Technological University is a public research university located in Houghton, Michigan, United States. Its main campus sits on on a bluff overlooking Portage Lake...
in Houghton, Michigan
Houghton, Michigan
Houghton is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and largest city in the Copper Country on the Keweenaw Peninsula. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,708. It is the county seat of Houghton County...
, is the official mineral museum of the state of Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
and is a heritage site of the Keweenaw National Historical Park
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...
. The museum is named for professor Arthur Edmund Seaman
Arthur Edmund Seaman
Arthur Edmund Seaman was a professor at Michigan College of Mines and curator of the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum which bears his name. He was born in Casnovia, Michigan, near Grand Rapids. The mineral seamanite was named in his honor.In 1899, he has named head of the Department of Geology and...
, who worked at Michigan Tech in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was the museum's curator from 1928-1937.
The mineral collection was established in the 19th century, and by 1890 numbered 27,000 specimens. The museum currently houses over 65,000 specimens from around the world, of which more than 20,000 are on exhibit. Most of these specimens are native generally to Michigan, and more specifically to the Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
region.
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 17 June 1976 the museum moved to the fifth floor of the Electrical Energy Resource Center at Michigan Tech, built on the site of Hotchkiss Hall. In 2011, the museum moved to a new building, Thomas D Shaffner Hall, across from the Advanced Technology Development Complex.
There are plans to relocate the museum to the Quincy Mine
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 known as "Old Reliable," as the Quincy Mine Company paid...
, another part of the Keweenaw National Historical Park
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...
. The new museum will be located in the renovated Quincy Mine blacksmith and machine shop buildings that are preexisting on the site. The new museum location is larger than its current location and will offer more space to display mineral specimens. There is also room for a sufficient number of parking spaces for visitors to be put on the site. The museum will be located inside the Keweenaw National Historic Park and it will be more visible and accessible to visitors.
Curators
- Arthur Edmund Seaman (1928–1937)
- Kiril Spiroff (1938–1943)
- Wyllis Seaman (1943–1948)
- Kiril Spiroff (1964–1975)
- Jean Peterman Kemp (1975–1986)
- Stanley J Dyl II (1986–1996)
- George W. Robinson (1996–present)
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