American Museum of Natural History Research Library
author: American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History. Hall of Mollusks and Mankind.; Hall of Mollusks and Mankind; Mollusks and Mankind; Hall of Invertebrates; Mollusks and Our World
birth: 1975
death: 1996
Permanent exhibition. Opened December 1975 and closed approximately 1996. Located on Floor 1, Section 9. The Hall of Mollusks and Mankind at the American Museum of Natural History presented exhibits on the role of mollusks in human culture and economy (1, 1974/75, p. 4). The curators for the hall were William K. Emerson, Roger Batten, William E. Old, and Harold S. Feinberg from the Department of Living and Fossil Invertebrates, and it was designed by Henry Gardiner of the Exhibition Department (1, 1974/75 p. 14; 1, 1971/72 p. 27; 1, 1972/73, p. 31).
Planning and construction of the Hall of Mollusks and Mankind took place between 1971 and 1975 (1, 1971/72, p. 27). Drawing on humans' relationship with shells as well as the biological and technical aspects of malacology, exhibits in the hall included The World of Mollusks, Life and Light, Shell Growth, Spirals and Shell Variation, Reproduction and Development, The Shell as Material, Status, Wealth, Daily Life, and Shells in Architecture (2).