We probably all know it. When we visit holiday destinations, we walk up and down the beach trying to find shells that would make a nice memento or exotic decoration for our abodes. But do you ever wonder what shells actually are? Where did they come from?

You can find out more about the shells of molluscs at the exhibition Molluscs of the World's Oceans, which you can visit at the Andrej Kmet's Museum from 12 December 2023 to 3 March 2024.

The exhibition will show the diversity of gastropods and bivalves, their interesting shapes, colouring, shell construction. In the exhibition space, visitors can see an artificially created ocean floor, which will familiarize visitors with the environment in which they immediately live. It also includes corals, sea sponges, sea urchins, starfish and other marine animals.

Visitors will see hundreds of species of shells and learn interesting facts about individual taxonomic branches of these beautiful animals. They will learn about the history of hunting and collecting shells, as well as their use. They can also admire selected marine animals such as crabs, urchins and others. The exhibition will also provide pictures of the animals in their environment.

Collector Milan Berešík has been interested in nature since he was a child. This interest led him to study special breeding in Prague. He has been working as a herpetologist at the National Zoological Garden Bojnice, where he takes care of snakes and other reptiles.

Milan Berešík founded his collection almost thirty years ago. His passion for travelling helped him to do so. On his expeditions he not only explored but also collected interesting species. From several exotic journeys he has brought an estimated three thousand unique shells, but he does not refuse pieces obtained through exchanges between collectors, donations from travellers and to a large extent also purchases from traders, collectors and indigenous people.

Over the years he expanded his collection and became a member of the Czech Shell Collectors Club. Currently, his collection consists of hundreds of species of shells and mussels of various shapes and sizes from 1 to 70 centimetres and is growing to include other marine animals. The species on display are mainly found in the warmer regions of the oceans and seas - the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean, Indochina, the Philippines, Oceania, as well as the Mediterranean Sea and around Africa.