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BAILEY-MATTHEWS NATIONAL SHELL MUSEUM & AQUARIUM
The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium on Sanibel recently completed the final phase of its new Great Hall of Shells and exhibits in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in 2022.
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BAILEY-MATTHEWS NATIONAL SHELL MUSEUM & AQUARIUM
The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium on Sanibel recently completed the final phase of its new Great Hall of Shells and exhibits in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in 2022.
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BAILEY-MATTHEWS NATIONAL SHELL MUSEUM & AQUARIUM
The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium on Sanibel recently completed the final phase of its new Great Hall of Shells and exhibits in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in 2022.
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BAILEY-MATTHEWS NATIONAL SHELL MUSEUM & AQUARIUM
The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium on Sanibel recently completed the final phase of its new Great Hall of Shells and exhibits in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in 2022.
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BAILEY-MATTHEWS NATIONAL SHELL MUSEUM & AQUARIUM
The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium on Sanibel recently completed the final phase of its new Great Hall of Shells and exhibits in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in 2022.
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BAILEY-MATTHEWS NATIONAL SHELL MUSEUM & AQUARIUM
The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium on Sanibel recently completed the final phase of its new Great Hall of Shells and exhibits in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in 2022.
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BAILEY-MATTHEWS NATIONAL SHELL MUSEUM & AQUARIUM
The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium on Sanibel recently completed the final phase of its new Great Hall of Shells and exhibits in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in 2022.
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BAILEY-MATTHEWS NATIONAL SHELL MUSEUM & AQUARIUM
The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium on Sanibel recently completed the final phase of its new Great Hall of Shells and exhibits in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in 2022.
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BAILEY-MATTHEWS NATIONAL SHELL MUSEUM & AQUARIUM
The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium on Sanibel recently completed the final phase of its new Great Hall of Shells and exhibits in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in 2022.
10 / 10
BAILEY-MATTHEWS NATIONAL SHELL MUSEUM & AQUARIUM
The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium on Sanibel recently completed the final phase of its new Great Hall of Shells and exhibits in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in 2022.
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After nearly three years of rebuilding from damage caused by Hurricane Ian in 2022, the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium on Sanibel has opened extensive new, educational and permanent exhibits of shells from around the world.
“Coming out of Hurricane Ian, we wanted to rebuild and create the most beautiful and compelling exhibits of shells possible,” Executive Director Sam Ankerson said. “This space is intended to awe, to educate and to inspire, and we welcome all to be introduced, or re-introduced, to the timeless beauty and utility of these wonders of nature.”
The Great Hall of Shells, as the gallery is known, underwent a complete re-curation, redesign and reinstallation. The result is over 3,500 square feet of new exhibits that showcase thousands of shells, the habitats in which mollusks live, conservation challenges and successes that they experience, and ways in which shells have played a role in human history and culture over centuries.
About three times as many shells are on view as prior to Ian. Dozens of wide-ranging exhibits include spotlights on Southwest Florida shells, world record shells (the largest known shell specimens), micromollusks (the smallest), cowries, cones, murexes, Cuban land snails, volutes, scallops, carrier shells, fossil shells, and others.
Expanded exhibits of shells in culture illuminate the enduring influence of shells in art, currency, collecting, architecture, music, tools, spirituality, fashion, medicine and other areas of human endeavor and creativity.
New exhibits touch on regional and global environmental dynamics that impact mollusks and their shells, such as habitat loss, climate change and water quality, and include conservation success stories, such as oyster habitat and queen conch restoration.
The design of the exhibits, by Matter Practice of New York City, is contemporary, elegant and engineered to display the shells as if they were floating and lit as if they were gems.
The exhibits are curated by museum curator and Science Director Dr. José H. Leal.
“The design of the new Great Hall of Shells is beautiful — both harmonious and consistent — while making the most of the existing space,” Leal said. “I am proud to have been involved in the project from the very beginning. The gratification I feel in seeing the final result is enriched by the perspective gained from my many years of involvement with the museum and its exhibits.”
In addition to the Great Hall of Shells, the museum features the Living Gallery of Aquariums, which exhibits hundreds of marine animals including octopuses, conchs, seahorses, fish, corals and more.
The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The cost of admission is: $25 for adults; $20 for seniors, veterans, educators and first responders; $15 for ages 12-17 and students; $5 for ages 5-11; and free for ages under 5, members and active military.
For more information, visit ShellMuseum.org or call 239-395-2233.
The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium is at 3075 Sanibel-Captiva Road, Sanibel.