Category: outreach

A State of Michigan Historical Marker honoring Douglass Houghton was dedicated Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, in a morning ceremony led by the Keweenaw County Historical Society in Eagle River. Among the approximately 70 attendees were several descendants of Douglass Houghton. The marker was proposed by the Michigan Basin Geological Society centered in Lansing. Ted Bornhorst, executive director of the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum, and Larry Molloy, president of the Keweenaw County Historical Society, led a geological and historical field trip for the Michigan Basin Geological Society all day Friday and Saturday afternoon to the Keweenaw Peninsula for a group of 30 geologists and guests. As part the guided field trip, the group visited the museum on Friday evening where a life sized oil painting of Douglass Houghton is on exhibit. The painting was done in the 1870’s by Bradish and a duplicate was purchased by the Michigan House of Representatives in 1879. Mineral specimens collected by Douglass Houghton are on exhibit at the museum. These specimens are part of the University of Michigan mineral collection co-owned by the museum under the Michigan Mineral Alliance.

Read more at Tech Today, by the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum.

Today, June 22, 2016, several geoscientists will host a public discussion about the Keweenaw Geoheritage Project. The event begins with a wine and cheese reception at 6:30 p.m. followed by the presentation at 7 p.m. at the Quincy Mine Hoist.

Two special guests will speak to options available for increasing awareness and economic and educational opportunities for the Keweenaw.

They are: Thomas Casadevall, the United State Geological Services chair of the U.S. National Committee for Geoparks, and Cecile Olive, project manager for the Puys de Dome and the Limagne Fault World Heritage Project in France.

The project is led by Bill Rose (GMES) and Erika Vye.

Read more at Tech Today, by Allison Mills.

HOUGHTON — The Keweenaw Peninsula is a place of natural beauty with a fascinating mining history. Join local experts Bill Rose and Erika Vye in reading the landscape to learn how the Copper Country came to be the way it is today. In July Erika and Bill will lead one-day field trips exploring one of four major events in Earth’s history that make up the geology of the Keweenaw — Lavas, the Keweenaw Fault, the Jacobsville Sandstone, and Copper Mining Waste.

Read more at Keweenaw Now.

This is the third year of one day geotours of Michigan’s Keweenaw based on four of the five Geoelements of Keweenaw Geoheritage. These tours use ground and boat transportation and visit some of the most scenic and important geological spots in the Keweenaw.

We use the University’s research vessel Agassiz. Individual trips include “Lavas and the Keweenaw Rift,” “The Keweenaw Fault,” “Jacobsville Sandstone” and “Mining Wastes of Lake Superior.” The trips are led by Bill Rose and Erika Vye, from Michigan Tech’s Geological Engineering department.

Details of these trips are described online. They feature places that can best be seen by boat. There are only 17 spaces on each trip — sign up early.

From Tech Today, by Bill Rose, GMES.

Two distinguished authors from Duluth, Ron Morton and Carl Gawboy, will visit Houghton and Michigan Tech as part of the Carnegie Seminar Series in Keweenaw Natural History. Morton is a geologist and emeritus Professor from University of Minnesota, Duluth. Gawboy is an Ojibwa elder and well-known artist. They have taught unique classes together that bridge legend and geological science.

While in Houghton there will be two special public events.

On Tuesday, April 14 there will be a reception at the Carnegie Museum, Community Room at 6 pm, where discussion, introductions and light refreshments will be featured, and this will be followed by a joint presentation titled: Talking Rocks: Common ground geology in the Lake Superior Region and Native Americans.

On Wednesday, April 15 a book signing (Two books: Talking Rocks and Talking Sky) will be held in the East Reading room, First floor, JR Van Pelt Library at 4 pm, followed by a joint presentation at 4:30-5:30 pm, titled: Talking Sky: Ojibwe constellations and sky stories– how they used them to live on and with the land.

This special visit is sponsored by the Carnegie Museum of Houghton with additional support from the Departments of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, and Social Sciences, the JR Van Pelt Library, the Indigeous Issues Discussion Group and the Isle Royale and Keweenaw National Parks Association. If you wish to meet with these visitors contact Elise Nelson (906 482-7140 or elisen@cityofhoughton.com).

More information about these special events is online:

On Tuesday, March 17, Kareena Schmidt, expert on natural plant communities, will lead a discussion about Keweenaw plants. The event is part of a monthly series of sessions on the Geoheritage and Natural History of the Keweenaw, at the Carnegie Museum in Houghton. The discussions are aimed at the general public, but discuss current research and science.

Indigenous Cultural Elements of Keweenaw and Isle Royale: Community Lecture/Discussion

On Tuesday, February 24, MTU Professor Emerita Susan Martin, expert on Prehistoric Archeology and ancient copper, will lead a discussion about ancient cultural elements of our region. She will be joined by Seth dePasqual, Cultural Resource Manager at Isle Royale National Park. The event is part of a monthly series of sessions on the Geoheritage and Natural History of the Keweenaw, at the Carnegie Museum in Houghton. The discussions are aimed at the general public, but discuss current research and science.

On Tuesday, December 16, Professor Rolf Peterson, MTU expert on Wildlife Ecology, will lead a discussion titled “Animal Elements of Keweenaw Peninsula and Isle Royale”. The event is part of a monthly series of sessions on the Geoheritage and Natural History of the Keweenaw, at the Carnegie Museum in Houghton. The discussions are aimed at the general public, but discuss current research and science.