Tag Archives: AE Seaman Mineral Museum

Keweenaw Ledge Agate-AKA SISU Agate

Visiting the Seaman Mineral Museum is always a treat. Their Fluorescent display is shown.

The Keweenaw Peninsula always amazes us. We have had the most wonderful couple weeks. Business has been robust, with loads of lovely ladies sporting our jewelry made from local Copper Country rocks. We pulled into our new campsite at Lake Linden last night, and while I was talking to the campground

The Pink Petoskey Stone and the Favosite I donated to the Seaman Mineral Museum.

host, I told her I sold my jewelry at Copper World. She said “Are you the guy that makes that amazing wire wrapped jewelry”. I admitted that I am and she told me that someone was in the campground who had a new Lake Superior Agate necklace she had bought at Copper World. It is so nice to get complements like “I could not believe that was wire wrapped jewelry, it was so perfect.” How nice is that? Coffee and a complement first thing in the morning–a great way to start the day.

Bon nie chats with some customers at the Eagle Harbot Art Fair.

Bonnie chats with some customers checking out some earrings in a mirror at the Eagle Harbot Art Fair.

I expect since it is a perfect day, I’m just going to relax and make some jewelry in my lawn chair.

This last week we started digging a hole in some hard rock ledges south of Copper Harbor, and we struck the mother lode of Ledge Agates like I have seldom been seen. This is a special type of Lake Superior Agate not as well known as the traditional fortification (or banded) agate. I was finding this agate in seams rather than in nodules, or single rocks.

Here I am "slamming" agates out of a ledge. I call these SISU Agates, because they are so hard to get.

The normal Ledge Agate is a dull brown or pink/white, non-banded, drab agate, but some of these are bright red, some with white Quartz. I have been literally working my meals off in this hole. I have a special “slammer” tool my buddy Chris made for me. I cannot imagine how much harder these would be with a chisel and hammer. I did dig this hole: bend and twist, sweat and ache. I saw color and from a deathlike state I come back to life and kept beating at the rock. The local Finns have a word for going above and beyond your ordinary: SISU. I am definitely in SISU working on this hole-struggling above and beyond. I hereby dub these SISU Agates!

Agates in the hole.

I guess I am in the Agate Greed mode right now, so we will go get more the next couple days.

A whole bucket of SISU Agates.

Finally the Monks at the Jam Pot had a full supply of their famous Muffins and other goodies.

Inside the A.E. Seaman Museum

The A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum

I thought you would like to see a small sample of what you would see when you visit the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum.

THE most spectacular native Copper specimens in the world.

Copper Included Calcite

The new museum opened just over a year ago under the direction of Dr. Ted Bornhorst and Curator Dr. George Robinson.

The famous "Grasshopper" (Native Copper)

The Seaman is Michigan’s Official State Mineral Museum, located on the Michigan Technological University Campus in Houghton. A brand new museum building houses one of the most remarkable collections of rocks & minerals in the world.

Tourmaline

There is no other museum, including the Smithsonium, that houses the premier collection of Upper Peninsula Minerals that you see at the Seaman. Also you will not want to miss the amazing fluorescent display room, and the many “best in the world” specimens scattered thoughout this museum.

All the new, locally manufactured, custom display cases seem to be a perfect fit, and the lighting in the Seaman Museum is just perfect. Much thought went into the entire structure, except,”what do you do if you hit an old mine shaft during construction?”. You can read the interesting story from the building construction at The Mining Gazette. And you know the story eventually had a happy ending!

One of the Mineral Galleries at the Seaman

Pegmatite Display

A temporary display on loan from a private collection.

Many people, from around the world, make a pilgrimage to this out-of-the-way locale just to see this world-class museum. YOU would be remiss if you missed this marvelous and incredible museum. You might even have a Pasty after your explorations in the A.E. Seaman Museum.

A Donation to the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum

Anyone that knows me, knows that one of my favorite places in the world is the Keweenaw Peninsula. It is a beautiful, historic place, as well as my best rock-hunting area.

The New A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum.

In Houghton, on the campus of Michigan Technological Institute is one of the great mineral Museums in the world, one that, unfortunately, most tourists pass up. The A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum located at 1404 Sharon Avenue. The seaman Museum is Michigan’s Official State Mineral Museum.

The Seaman moved to their new building last summer. The new building is still lacking the space to display all the museums collection, but it is all they could afford when forced to move from their old space in central campus location. The new museum building has room for expansion in the future.

Donating my Pink Petoskey Stone to Dr. Robinson at the Seaman Museum. I am pointing the case where the specimen should fit.

The curator of the museum collection is my good friend, Dr. George Robinson, who also teaches some of the geology classes at Tech. The director of the Seaman is Dr Ted Bornhorst. Based on all the work done in moving the specimens, and setting up all the new displays, I would also point out the work done by George’s wife, Susan. You might as well call her co-curator.

The new museum opened officially in August 2011. I told George that when the museum opened, I would donate a world-class Pink Petoskey Stone to add to their display case containing Michigan’s Official State Stone. I took a mineral photography class in 2010 and George saw the Pink Petoskey Stone when we photographed it in the class.

The world-class favosites I donated previously to the Seaman.

I have previously donated a Favosites specimen that is on display, but it was an honor for me to share my Pink Petoskey with the world. I know of no other museum that has a pink Petoskey Stone in their collection.

You can clearly see this Petoskey is Pink!

Next time you are in the Houghton area, check out the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum and look for my donated fossils.

I’ll blog more about the museum and show you some of the displays in the near future.

The Museum Collections

(as listed on the AE Seaman Museum website):

World’s finest collection of Keweenaw Copper District minerals

World’s finest collection of Lake Superior Iron District minerals

World’s most comprehensive collection of Michigan Minerals

One of the best fluorescent mineral exhibits in the United States

One of the largest systematic mineral collections on public view in North America

Collection includes individual specimens that are the best of their species

One of the world’s best suites of Fairfield, Utah Variscite

One of the world’s best suites of Yukon phosphate minerals

Guinness World Record copper specimen (satellite exhibit at the Quincy Mine)

The NEW Seaman Mineral Museum.

The NEW Seaman Mineral Museum

The new Seaman Mineral Museum at Michigan Technological University opened not long ago with their first display from the Keweenaw set up.

Museum cases ready to be filled

The new building has slightly less floor space than their old location in the Engineering building. I think with careful planning they can get all the old material back in plus maybe a little more. The new building was designed to be added to and it really needs to be twice as big at least.

Some of the Keweenaw collection minerals

A generous donation from Thomas D. Shaffner and supporters of the Seaman and the University funded the building. Construction began auspiciously when an old mine shaft was struck under where the building was going to be replaced. This added costs to the building as that hole had to be filled. I thought that it would have been a great asset to just leave the hole open and charge for mine tours (OK, just kidding). Another option would have been to put the Fluorescent collection down there (you need dark don’t you?).

Lakers

Copper history display

Our good friend and famous artist, Susan Robinson, took Bonnie and I on a wonderful tour of the future museum. Susan’s husband Professor George Robinson has done a wonderful job coordinating the reestablishment of the museum exhibits. Susan is to be commended as chief specimen wrapper and unwrapper.

The gift shop is open and was busy. The biggest areas of the exhibits are still to be unwrapped and displayed, but they did get Keweenaw minerals out to make all of us drool over what we wish we might find this week.

Datolites