Sanibel Island, Florida: Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum

After visiting Lighthouse Beach and Bowmans Beach we got dried off and headed to the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum. It is located at 3075 Sanibel-Captiva Rd. Admission was $11 for adults and $5 for children. Four and under are free. (If you have a NARM membership this is currently listed as a reciprocal participant. We will be upgrading our membership to include NARM next year and that membership would allow you in for FREE).

I totally dropped the ball on this visit. They offer so many different outings and programs daily with paid admission but we showed up late in the day and had very little time before closing.

They also offer different events on each day of the week. Some free and some at an additional cost. If you go be sure to pre-plan and take a look at their schedule of events. I know I will next time.

We arrived just in the nick of time to see their last  Live Tank Talk for the day.

 It was a very informative hands on talk. Afterwards everyone was allowed to touch the animals in one of the tanks following the two finger rule.

Looks like these guys are planning an adventure

After the tank talk we were off to explore the rest of the museum.

There was a hands on learning area for the kids.

And so many educational displays throughout this jammed packed little museum.

I always wondered how these buttons were made.

A whole bouquet of flowers made from shells.

Not only was there information about the many local shells but there was a ton of info about worldwide shells as well.

I so wish we could have participated in some of the other daily activities. Next time I will pre-plan ahead of time so we can get the most out of our entrance fee. It was a very interesting little museum and I look forward to returning some day down the road. I really want to participate in one of their guided walks.

Have you ever visited Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum?