Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum
2014 view of the museum with shell banners
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 Location within Florida
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| Established | 1995 |
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| Location | 3075 Sanibel-Captiva Road, Sanibel, Florida 33957 |
| Coordinates | 26°26′17″N 82°05′34″W / 26.438145°N 82.092749°W |
| Type | Malacology and Conchology |
| Accreditation | American Alliance of Museums, 2010 |
| Director | Dorrie Hipschman |
| Curator | José H. Leal, PhD |
| Architect | George "Tutts" Tuttle Jr. |
| Website | Official website |
The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum is a museum devoted to every aspect of seashells, conchology, and malacology, including the paleontological and archeological/anthropological aspects of the study of shells. The museum is located in the city of Sanibel on Sanibel Island on the Gulf of Mexico coast of Southwest Florida.
The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum opened to the public in 1995, and operates as an information and reference center for national and international scientists, students, and shell enthusiasts, particularly those who are interested in the marine, terrestrial, and freshwater mollusks of the Gulf of Mexico and Florida. The Museum, which is a facility of the Shell Museum and Educational Foundation, Inc., received its first accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums in March 2010.
The museum's exhibits include shells from all over the world. However, many shells on show in the museum are from Florida, and a substantial number are from Sanibel and Captiva islands. This is because Sanibel Island is one of the best seashell collecting spots in the world (comparable to Jeffreys Bay in Africa and the Sulu Archipelago in the Pacific). The museum also owns a collection of Pacific Ocean cowries and cones donated by actor Raymond Burr, who owned an island in the Fijis, and who led the efforts to raise funds to build the museum. Outside the museum is a memorial garden dedicated to Raymond Burr, and inside the museum is a small exhibit about him as a film actor, philanthropist and shell collector.
In addition to its 34 exhibits, public programs, and in-house resources, the museum has embarked on many collaborations with national and international educational and research institutions, and offers facilities in its collection and research area for visiting researchers, interns, and students. Resources are used by national and international professionals in the fields of environmental and marine sciences, biology, and ecology. The Museum also offers a formal field trip program for Lee County public school 4th-graders on a cost-sharing basis.
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