On Tuesday, March 27, Husky Bites hosted curator John A. Jaszczak and museum manager Patrice F. Cobin to celebrate the 120-year anniversary of the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum.
The museum, located on campus, was established in 1902 by Arthur Edmund Seaman, a professor of mineralogy at the university. It has since grown to become one of the largest mineral museums in the world, with more than 40,000 specimens in its collection (shared with the University of Michigan). The museum moved from the EERC to the current building in 2011. “The floors in the EERC were reinforced due to the presence of the mineral museum in the design plan… this is also why the EERC doesn’t have windows on that floor,” stated Jaszczak.
The museum’s collection includes a variety of specimens from Michigan and around the world, including copper, silver, and gold. It also features a collection of meteorites, as well as exhibits on mining and geology. Aside from providing a gift shop and a viewable collection, the museum provides samples for research purposes to share around the state.
The curators like to include “mineral stories” in their exhibits. Exhibits include artifacts and other items alongside mineral specimens to tell a specific story. These exhibits showcase the history of the Keweenaw mining industry, geology as a profession, and minerals used in everyday life. An important historical figure featured by the museum is Douglass Houghton, the namesake of the city. Douglass Houghton was appointed Michigan’s first state geologist. Jaszczak commented, “He was integral in the Upper Peninsula to find the deposits of copper… In his time here he was quite a prolific collector.”
The A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $2 for children ages 5-12, free for children under 5, and $4 for non-MTU students with a presented school ID. MTU students that bring their ID get access to the museum for free.
