Western Museum of Mining & Industry

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Western Museum of Mining & Industry
500 hp Corliss Steam Engine.jpg
500 hp Corliss steam engine, on display in the museum
Western Museum of Mining & Industry
Established1970
Location225 North Gate Boulevard
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Coordinates 39°01′38″N104°49′45″W / 39.02736°N 104.82904°W / 39.02736; -104.82904 Coordinates: 39°01′38″N104°49′45″W / 39.02736°N 104.82904°W / 39.02736; -104.82904
Type Mining museum
Website www.wmmi.org

The Western Museum of Mining & Industry is a museum at 225 North Gate Boulevard in Colorado Springs, Colorado, dedicated to the mining history and industrial technology of the western United States. The museum was founded in 1970, and has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums since 1979. [1] It is open to the public Mondays through Saturdays.

Contents

The museum building houses antique mining equipment and steam engines. [2] Some of the pneumatic machines are connected to compressed air so that they can be viewed in actual operation. The museum also includes a recreation of an old assay office [3] and scale models of mines and mills.

Outdoor exhibits include live burros, a steam shovel, and an operating stamp mill for gold ore. [4]

The museum maintains a research library on mining topics, available by appointment.

Other activities at the museum include lectures, rotating exhibits, and a twice-weekly farmers’ market.

40-foot tall steam stamp engine, used in the Michigan copper district circa 1900. Nordeng Steam Stamp.jpg
40-foot tall steam stamp engine, used in the Michigan copper district circa 1900.

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References

  1. "About the Western Museum of Mining & Industry".
  2. Zuckerman, Diane. "Mining museum reverberates with realistic settings". Denver Post.
  3. Molloy, Peter M. (1980). "The Assay Office of the Western Museum of Mining and Industry: A Case Study in the Concept and Design of an Exhibit". IA, The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology . 6 (1): 60. JSTOR   40967994.
  4. Gordon, Robert B.; Malone, Patrick M. (1994). The Texture of Industry: An Archaeological View of the Industrialization of North America. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 219. ISBN   9780585351995.