FROM THE DIRECTOR (April 2008)
We are once again passing into a new season here in Houghton (1st of May). The museum has entered a new season too. The museum's beginning at the capable hands of our founder A. E. Seaman was a season of focus on a mineral collection aimed at teaching. Over time the museum evolved into a regionally recognized museum, through the efforts of past curators including Jean Kemp and Stan Dyl. A true turning point for the museum occurred with the generous gifts which established the Gabriel endowment held by the Michigan Tech Fund and the E. D. and E. W. Heinrich Mineralogical Research Foundation Trust (Tiger Salotti, principal trustee). This financial support originally allowed the museum to hire the current curator Dr. George Robinson and is still critical to the museum. George and his able wife Susan have spent countless hours tending to the needs of the collection from acquisition of fine minerals for the collection to redesign of displays. Along with this hard work comes a little luck too. In the last 10 years, crystallized native copper has become highly sought after by collectors, hence, increasing the stature of the native copper collection of the Seaman Mineral Museum, arguably the world's finest. In a published special issue of the Mineralogical Record we were cited as one of the finest mineral museums in North America. The February 2008 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show display of " America's Mineral Treasures" was a once in a lifetime show with minerals from the top U.S. mineral localities. Of course, we had an important showing as noted elsewhere in this newsletter. The Mineralogical Record will soon publish a special issue on the show and the cover photo will be "our" logo copper specimen!! And the caption (not written by us) says that our specimen is arguably the finest in existence. Yes, the museum has entered a new season, we are truly now NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED. And with hard work and a little luck, we can look forward to yet another new season, an internationally recognized museum.
OLD NEWS
