The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium’s 2025 Season Lecture Series concludes on April 3rd with The Rise, Fall, and Renewal of New York Harbor’s Oysters by New York Times best-selling author Mark Kurlansky.
Mark Kurlansky has written 39 books, several exploring the intersection of nature and history including the celebrated best-seller The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell. In his April 3 talk Kurlansky explores the history of New York Harbor and the amazing ecological story of its renowned oysters, which were at first native and extraordinarily abundant, became globally famous delicacies, and eventually were destroyed by water pollution in the 19th and 20th centuries. For 50 years there have been efforts, now beginning to achieve success, to restore the harbor and its oysters. Kurlansky’s talk reveals this remarkable story of marine biology, urban growth, and conservation.
Other prominent titles by Kurlansky include Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World and Salt: A World History. Kurlansky has also worked as a journalist for decades, with articles appearing in Audubon Magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Miami Herald, New York Times Magazine, and many more.
The lecture will be held at the Museum on Thursday, April 3, at 5:30pm. Registration is required at ShellMuseum.org/in-person-lectures. Cost is $10 per person (or FREE for Museum Members, memberships to be confirmed upon registration). Registration includes choice of wine, beer, non-alcoholic beverage, and light snack.
The Museum’s 2025 Season Lecture Series is made possible by its Presenting Sponsor, Bank of the Islands.
About the Museum: The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium is a natural history museum and aquarium, and the only museum in the United States devoted primarily to shells and mollusks. Its mission is to use exceptional collections, aquariums, programs, experiences, and science to be the nation’s leading museum in the conservation, preservation, interpretation, and celebration of shells, the mollusks that create them, and their ecosystems. For more information, please visit ShellMuseum.org or call (239) 395-2233.
