Mission Statement:
-To educate about shells and mollusks, the shell-makers, through exhibits, educational programs, library services and publications;
-To further awareness of nature and the natural environment;
-To promote collection-based research on shells and mollusks with emphasis on Southwest Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.

About the Museum

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 Action, is shown on the hour, and a children's video is shown continuously. The museum store offers a wide selection of shell books.