Specimen Preparation: Crab Curio 🦀🐚

This was my very first find and cleaning for my collection. While on holiday with friends in Mablethorpe, I discovered a Common Shore Crab arm on the beach. I carefully concealed it in a bag for the remainder of the trip to prevent spoilage or attracting insects.

While still on holiday, I prepared for the curation process by ordering 70% rubbing alcohol, specimen jars, tweezers, and rubber gloves to my home, ready to begin as soon as I returned.

🧰 Materials and Equipment:

• 🦀 Common Shore Crab (collected in Mablethorpe)

• 🐚 Common Whelk Shell (collected in Mablethorpe)

• 🌿 Dried basil stems (collected in Derbyshire)

• 🫙 Glass jar container

• 🧼 Soap and water cleaning solutions

• 🪥 Scrubbing tools and brushes

• 🧻 Paper towels (for drying after cleaning)

• ⏳ Drying time: several hours after each cleaning process in a ventilated space

• 🧤 Rubber gloves (recommended for handling)

⚙️ Preparation Process:

• 🫧 Initial Cleaning – Cleaned arm and shell using soap and water solution

• 🧪 Sterilisation – Overnight in 70% alcohol-water solution

• 🪥 Detailed Preparation – Carefully scrubbed and prepared each component to museum-standard cleanliness

• 🫙 Assembly and Curation – Arranged all elements within the jar using curatorial principles and aesthetic balance

Common Shore Crab arm & Common Whelk Shell - Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire - 23/06/2021

Dried basil stems - Kirk Hallam, Derbyshire - 2021

Key Skills Developed:

• 🖼️ Curatorial and Display Skills – Material integration with combining natural and found elements into a unified display. With aesthetic arrangement and creative problem-solving, displaying multiple elements.

• 🫙 Preservation and Collections Management – Multi-material preservation and long-term storage planning. Applying conservation methods suited to organic and inorganic finds and learning how to curate for my own specimen assembly.

• 🏛️ Museum-Related Skills – Collections handling awareness and exhibition insight, considering museum conservation standards when cleaning and preparing materials and designing displays.

• 🧩 Problem-solving – Adapting to diverse materials, adjusting techniques for shell, plant, and skeletal elements. Also, improvising with limited tools to create professional-quality results using everyday resources.

• 🎨 Transferable Professional Skills – Patience and perseverance with managing multi-step processes and perfecting displays, balancing scientific accuracy with visual storytelling.

This first specimen curation marked the beginning of my collection journey. It not only introduced me to the practical processes of cleaning, preserving, and arranging natural finds, but also strengthened my understanding of curatorial decision-making and display. The experience laid the foundation for future projects, demonstrating how everyday discoveries can be transformed into meaningful, museum-inspired specimens.

💀 See more on my Instagram: @BonesByShannon 🪲

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