PICKERINGTON, Ohio – Pickerington resident Evan Schmidt has collected shells since the age of two.
The Harmon Middle School fifth grader is fascinated with the study of shells or Conchology.
His collection is comprised of shells he’s found on the beach, on eBay, and even shells he’s been gifted from residents of other countries, such as an Australian clam trumpet.
“It’s actually a very prized shell in Australia because it’s extremely rare to find. We were at a festival and somebody came and dropped this off with a bunch of other shells,” Evan said. “I was extremely surprised.”
For the last three summers, Evan and his parents, Philip and Daniella, have used their garage as a museum to showcase his vast collection of shells from around the world, only a fraction of his total collection.
Both say while it may be time to expand to a bigger location in the near-future, they encourage Evan’s hobby and future aspirations.
“This is what he wants to do in the future. He has a bucket list of lots of places he wants to go and shells he wants to collect,” Daniella said. “We’re just excited because it’s opened up already some opportunities for him to volunteer at OSU this summer and visit the National Shell Museum down in Florida.”
The Schmidts will continue to host Shell Museum events for Evan throughout the summer.
Although he’s traveled to several locations in the U.S., Evan has two dream spots overseas where he’d love to go shelling one day.
“Dream place to go shelling is Australia, and if not, my second place is probably going to be the Caribbean,” Evan said. s
Evan’s mom Daniella has captured his shelling journey on this Instagram page.
They are also accepting donations with part of the proceeds benefitting ocean conservation.
