Galloway, N.J. - B.J. Bingham collected shells for four decades, sharing them with local enthusiasts from her home exhibit in Vineland, but she wanted their impact to reach further. She chose Stockton University as the new home for her collection, which gives students the opportunity to curate a campus display.

Bingham donated thousands of shells from around the world to the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics where Camilla Alves Souto, assistant professor of Marine Science, has been organizing them with students. Many of the shells are from St. Croix, an island in the Caribbean, where she and her husband stayed at a remote field station for research. 

Samantha Gransee, a Marine Science major from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, went to Bingham’s home to help move the collection to campus. “When you ask her about a shell, she can tell you when she found it, how she found it, and what it is. Her house was like a miniature museum,” she recalled.

Cambell Clark, a Marine Science major from West Deptford, was taking a Marine Methods and Analysis course with Alves Souto when she found out about the volunteer opportunity to work with the shell collection.

“It was so fun. Unwrapping everything was kind of like opening presents. I didn't know what to expect and it was honestly so cool to be able to put my hands on shells from places like Chile—that’s insane to me. I thought to myself, this is what I could be doing in my future, so it was nice to get that hands-on experience instead of sitting in class and looking at pictures of shells,” Clark explained.

Clark will be around shellfish all summer working on the Sweet Amalia oyster farm. The job blends her interests in marine life and the outdoors.

Joseph Brennan, a Marine Science major from Manasquan, is a natural history collector too and has a personal collection of shells, fossils and bones. He was impressed by several rare items he had never seen before. 

Brennan, who has been interested in sharks since he was young, works at Jenkinson’s Aquarium. As he dives into his study of marine science, his interests are branching out.

The shell collection is a colorful and diverse illustration of how much there is to explore within the world’s oceans. Alves Souto is excited to curate the shells with her students to share with a wider audience.  

Story and photos by Susan Allen 

Samantha Gransee and Cambell Clark marvel at the bright-colored shells collected from tropical places. 

 

Thousands of shells were donated to Stockton University giving students the opportunity to curate an exhibit on marine invertebrates. 

 

Joseph Brennan, Camilla Alves Souto, Cambell Clark and Samantha Gransee show off a selection of the shell donation.

 

Scallop shell

 

An internal mold of a snail shell

 

A cowfish 

 

A spiny jewelbox clam