COLLECTIONS AND RESEARCH 

The Delaware Museum of Natural History's research collections have a strong emphasis on mollusks (shells) and birds, reflecting the original collecting interests of our founder, John E. du Pont. The collections are divided into two departments: The Mollusk Department is responsible for the collections of shells, insects, other invertebrates, and plants. The Bird Department is responsible for birds, mammals, and other vertebrates. Both major collections are worldwide in scope, but also have a large number of specimens from the Delmarva (Delaware-Maryland-Virginia) Peninsula. In fact, DMNH is ranked in the top fifteen in the United States for our collections of mollusks and birds, with the second largest collection of birds' eggs in North America.

More than 112,000 bird specimens and 220,000 lots of mollusks (shells) are housed on the top floor of the Museum. A large number of the specimens in the galleries are from the scientific collections. Scientists at the Museum help make sure the information is correct and up to date. Many of the education programs offered at the Museum make use of specimens or expertise from the C&R Division. Artists from around the region also use the Museum's collections as a resource to help them in their work.

The most important job of the staff of the Collections and Research Division is to care for the specimens in the collections. We are holding these specimens in trust for the benefit of society. If the specimens are not properly cared for, the information they represent may be lost to future generations. In addition to caring for the specimens in the collections, the staff of the Collections and Research Division has important roles in continuing to build the collections and in facilitating research by scientists around the world. The natural world is constantly changing and one way to document these changes is by continuing to add new specimens to natural history collections. The scientists at DMNH study the specimens in our collection to learn more about the natural world. In addition, scientists from around the world come to the Museum to study our specimens and we send data and specimens to scientists at other institutions to assist them in their research.

Click here to order Marine Mollusks of Bermuda: Checklist and Bibliography, a new book published by the Delaware Museum of Natural History.

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Mollusk Department

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