HOUGHTON — For 120 years, the A. E. Seaman family has supported one of the most renowned mineral museums in North America.

The tradition continues. John “Jack” and Phyllis Seaman recently celebrated Jack’s 103rd birthday with a gift to Michigan Technological University’s A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum.

The John and Phyllis Seaman Endowment for Curation of the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum will provide perpetual support for a museum curator and enable the museum to continue its impact on students, scientists and the public.

The museum’s current director and curator, John Jaszczak, has been named the inaugural appointee to the newly endowed position. The curator holds the responsibilities of caring for, growing and utilizing the museum’s collections of minerals and related objects for exhibit, education and research.

The Seamans also established a Student Support Fund for students involved with the museum in honor of Jean Petermann Kemp Zimmer ’39, who served as museum curator from 1975-86, and Jack’s sister, Jeanne Seaman Farnum, who studied geology under Wyllys Seaman.

The endowment is a fitting honor to both Jack’s grandfather, Arthur Edmund Seaman (1858-1937), and father, Wyllys A. Seaman (1886-1972). Arthur founded the museum and served as its first curator 120 years ago, when Tech was called the Michigan College of Mines, and Wyllys served as the museum’s third curator. Both were Michigan Tech alumni and faculty members.

“Many members of the Seaman family have served as pioneers in Michigan Tech history, and we’re proud to carry on their tradition of excellence here,” said Bill Roberts, Michigan Tech vice president for advancement and alumni engagement. “We are thankful to Jack and Phyllis for this gift and their longtime commitment to Tech. Their exceptional generosity will leave a lasting legacy on the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum, which provides benefits to the University and greater community. We deeply appreciate their support and friendship.”

A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum’s mission to curate a comprehensive collection of minerals and educate people about their importance traces back to the state of Michigan’s Enabling Act of 1861 seeking to establish the Michigan Mining School “at or near the village of Houghton.”

Today, the museum curates approximately 40,000 cataloged objects in the Michigan Tech collection and the University of Michigan collection, held under the Michigan Mineral Alliance. The museum houses a collection of native copper and other Upper Peninsula minerals, a collection of minerals from around the Great Lakes Region and a broad representation of minerals from around the world, displayed in its 8,000-square-foot building. The museum and gift shop are located on the south end of Michigan Tech’s campus with access off Sharon Avenue in Houghton.