Copper is KING in Arizona Part I

copper star in center of AZ flag

Here we go, folks...THE most amazing museum, the most beautifully decorated, and the most informational and educational museum in the whole state of Arizona. It's ranked in the TOP 1% of 4,500 Arizona attractions. 

Arizona has been the top producer of copper for over 100 years, and the surrounding mining towns of Jerome and Cottonwood along with Clarkdale, home of the museum, have made copper king in Arizona! and of course, Arizona IS known as the "Copper State".

entry room

The entire town of Clarkdale, home of Arizona's first master planned community, is on the National Register of Historic Places, and the museum location was selected because this area has the largest copper connection in the country. Located inside the old Clarkdale High School, from the minute you walk in, you will be captivated by the beautiful interior decorating, and the setup of 7 major rooms (old classrooms with tons of glass windows letting in beautiful daylight) that display the history and culture of copper. A series of copper footsteps guide you from room to room.

This is a hands on museum. You can touch things! But--maybe you shouldn't, as someone has to polish all the vessels, containers and artifacts! But you can walk right up to the art, the copper, the examples of architecture and culture and be transported to another time in history.

The museum combines history, science, art and more and there are over 5,000 works of copper art and architecture seen through amazing sunlit gallery rooms from the 1500's to present day. The seven major categories are information, military art (Sparky's favorite), art and architecture, religious, kitchen, drink ware, and distillery and winery.

You can view the history of copper mining, see the different ores, look at how copper was used for pigments in art, and learn about all that and more. You could easily spend hours and hours in this beautiful restored old high school setting.

There was a big section devoted to mythology and how copper and Venus have an intertwined connection, with the beautiful painting "The Birth of Venus" as a prime example to the copper connection.

Venus was born on the island of Cyprus. The waters are so blue because of the copper content in them. Her hair is a copper color. The cockles are known as "Venus" clams. In the museum is a section devoted to the uses of copper to color pigments of blues and greens in the art world. It was quite interesting. One of the combinations was copper and arsenic. That didn't last very long once they found out it was toxic!

There was a section of lore devoted to "Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars." It was called the "Venus/Copper/Women Connection." It appeared to be a little dated and a little sexist but still fun to read. Sparky learned that Cyprus was the birthplace of copper in ancient times and it shares many of the same geological features as Jerome, AZ. She learned some facts she had forgotten, like Mars orbit is 687 days, 225 days for Venus, suggesting (in the museum display) symbolism of women growing up faster than men. Venus is thought of in ancient times as the female planet. When it rains on Venus, it rains sulphuric acid. Mars is freezing cold and has a heavy iron content, the exact opposite of copper, hence the differing temperaments of men and women. Men's bodies have 30% more iron than women. Iron can only be "softened" with silver or gold, hence men are softened by women's charms. Don't shoot the messenger, that's what it said! Women have 20% more copper in their bodies than men. Hmmmmm......Can you take a little more "women are from Venus, men are from Mars"? (Sparky never read that book, by the way....)

Venus is the brightest planet in the sky. For centuries people believed that it was two separate planets as you could see it in the morning and at night. That's where the idea came from (IN ANCIENT TIMES) that women have natural bi-polar mood swings. And one more thing, Venus's orbit spins in the opposite direction of any other planet "just to be difficult!" (NOT Sparky's words, haha.) OK, enough of that silliness....Sparky will leave you with a teaser of more beautiful copper art and works to come, in part 2, with this spectacular copper chest seen in the "kitchen room".

And how about this Statue of Liberty hallway? Lots of interesting facts about the copper clad statue. The copper clad iron statue is only two pennies thick (!). Many more interesting details if you have never seen the real Statue of Liberty.

There are more sections to be explored, and ones that Sparky would like to share in more detail, the medical field and the Military Room. So for those subjects to get covered, Sparky needs to do a part 2. Hope you enjoyed this little foray into the Arizona Copper Museum today....See you soon... We hope you will stay in touch...