Bailey Matthews Shell Museum

Anyone who has ever returned home with a pretty seashell from the beach will find something of interest at Sanibel's Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum. The Shell Museum is the only one in the United States devoted to amateur and professional conchologists. It houses more than two-million specimens and is constantly growing with new, unidentified species every day. Usually, there is a professional...

There have been big changes here at the museum and it all starts before you even enter, with giant shell photos on the exterior of the building by nature photographer Henry Domke. Once inside, there are more than 30 permanent and short-term exhibits. See a life-size display of native Calusa and how they used shells. From tiny to enormous, view local specimens and a variety from around the...

As opposed to the many cheesy shell shacks, this is a serious museum devoted to saltwater, freshwater, and land shells (snails) from all over the world. Exhibits also include fossil shells found in Florida, displays on the medicinal benefits of mollusks, and sailors' valentines—shell crafts made by natives of Barbados for sailors to take home to their lovers. Make this your last stop before...

Anyone who has ever returned home with a pretty seashell from the beach will find something of interest at Sanibel's Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum. The Shell Museum is the only one in the United States devoted to amateur and professional conchologists. It houses more than two-million specimens and is constantly growing with new, unidentified species every day. Usually, there is a professional...

The non-profit Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum features more than 30 exhibits of mollusks from around the world. Exhibits are devoted to shells in art and history, shell habitat, rare specimens, fossil shells, common Southwest Florida shells, and more. The learning lab features a hands-on play area for children, displays, games, and a tank with indigenous mollusks. A half-hour video, Mollusks in...