"She sells seashells by the seashore" ... so goes the tongue twister. At the Buena Park Library District, Margaret Cooney presents an exhibit of shells collected by her late mother, Elizabeth M. Schofield, over the past 40 years. Friends, family and neighbors brought Mrs. Schofield shells from their travels. Currently on display in the library lobby, the exhibit will run through September 30, 2009.
Shells are the external skeleton of a soft-bodied animal known as a mollusk. Clams, snails, abalones are all mollusks. Mollusks live in the oceans and in fresh water, as well as on land. The shell is composed of calcium carbonate and other substances which are secreted by the mantle of the mollusk. The mantle is also responsible for the formation of pearls in oysters and mussels. Mollusks have been used as a source of food for thousands of years. Shells have been prized from ancient times. Shells have decorated Mesoamerican temples and Greek and Roman vases. They have also been used as a form of currency by Native Americans.
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