The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum concludes its free 11-session Celebrating 25 Years virtual lecture series just in time for Halloween. The final lecture, “Spooky Mollusks and other Evils of the Deep”, will be led by José H. Leal, Ph.D., Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum Science Director and Curator, at 5pm on October 20th.

The lecture will introduce, in an entertaining yet informative format, the myriad ways that selected marine mollusks live, and die. “In genuine vampire-seeking fashion, I will unmask the shocking lifestyles of ghastly and bloodcurdling mollusks,” said Dr. Leal.

Get acquainted with vampire squid and snails, clams that live entombed for life, grave-robbing and corpse-eating snails, parasitic micromollusks addicted to blood, and other harrowing creatures of the molluscan universe. And good luck sleeping after that!

Visit ShellMuseum.org/lecture-series to register and to watch recordings of previous lectures.

About the Museum: The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum is a Natural History Museum, and the only museum in the United States devoted solely to shells and mollusks. Its mission is to use exceptional collections, aquariums, programs, experiences, and science to be the nation’s leading museum in the conservation, preservation, interpretation, and celebration of shells, the mollusks that create them, and their ecosystems. Permanent exhibitions on view include the Great Hall of Shells which displays highlights of the Museum’s collection of some 500,000 shells, as well as the Beyond Shells living gallery of aquariums and over 50 species of marine life. For more information on the Museum, please visit ShellMuseum.org or call (239) 395-2233.