Description of the attraction
The Seashell Museum on the island of Poros in Greece introduces visitors to the underwater world and its inhabitants. The exhibition "Shells and the Sea: A World Without Borders" tells the story of marine animals that have an external skeleton, or shell. The variety of their shapes and colors interested people even in the Stone Age. The museum exposition is based on the personal collection of Georg and Helga Kanellakis, which they donated to the Poros Museum. The collection includes both Greek and foreign items. Some fossils and specimens from ancient times were collected specifically for the exhibition.
The exhibition is divided into several parts. The first section introduces the water cycle in nature; the next one is devoted to environmental issues. Then, museum visitors can learn about the current state of the Mediterranean Sea. Now 550 million people live on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, which sharply raises the issue of protecting the environment from pollution. A special section tells about the biological species of molluscs. Behind the glass are specimens of shells, diagrams and photographs of the seabed. Many of the names of their species in the international classification have Greek roots, and some names have been used since the time of Aristotle. The theme of the next part of the exhibition is shells in antiquity and in art. Here is considered their use in jewelry, tools, in the extraction of purple paint from them in antiquity. Finally, there are sections on the geological history of Poros, the history of the oceans and continents, and volcanoes.
Today in Greek waters there are 25 species of mollusks out of 1200 known in the world. 137 new species of marine animals migrated to the waters of the Mediterranean after the opening of the Suez Canal and in connection with navigation and growing fishing. In total, there are 10-12 thousand species of marine animals in the world.
