Cleaning and Preserving Sand Dollars, Starfish, Seashells, and Other Sea Life Specimens

From sand dollars to starfish, collecting sea life specimens can be an interesting hobby, but cleaning, drying, and preserving these pieces can be challenging. These objects, which tend to give character to any beach motif setting, can either be found through beachcombing or purchased. Many prefer preparing their collection themselves to serve as souvenirs. But, before beginning any beachcombing session, make sure you are familiar with the rules of the beach. Some objects can not be collected because they are important to the ecosystem.

You will also need to know the schedule for when the beach is open and when the tide will be low. Sometimes, after a storm is the best opportunity to look because storms tend to stir up debris in the sea. Carry with you a long padded box like a shirt box lined with paper towels or a plastic storage container without the lid.

After returning home, you will have to know proper methods for preparation while taking special care not to break brittle objects. As a rule of thumb, do not wash fish specimens. Sand dollars, dried starfish, and sea urchin skeletons which have not yet been preserved are extremely brittle, so take special care not to break them. Each type of sea life has its own method for preparation:

Shells– These treasures are found typically on saltwater beaches, though an occasional freshwater mollusk shell or mussel is gatherable. Be sure to only collect seashells where the animals have abandoned the shell or died.

CLEANING AND DRYING SHELLS
1. Remove dead tissue.
If there is an odor to the seashell, it might have dead body tissue in it. Aside from leaving the seashell outside or burying them and letting the bugs clean your shells for you, the only cure for this is removal. Prepare a drying solution of three parts salt, one part baking soda and place the offending shell in the dry bath.