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FORD Vans For Rent 15 Seat Rental Fort Lauderdale and the Bailey-Matthews
Shell Museum
Sanibel Island is one of the best places in the world for collecting sea
shells, so it is only natural that one of the world's foremost shell museums and
education centers is located on this island off the west coast of Florida. Many
vacationers drive in their Fort Myers 15 People Person Passenger Ford Van Rental
Vehicle down to the beaches in Sanibel to collect unique and beautiful shells.
Created and Run by Local Shell Enthusiasts
The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum was started by local Sanibel-Captiva Shell
Club member who were passionate about educating people about the importance of
shells and mollusks and their environment. The parent organization of the museum
they created with a personal $10, 000 grant from Charlene McMurphy is called the
Shell Museum and Educational Foundation, Inc.
The current name of the museum, 'Bailey-Matthews' comes from the donation of
the land that the museum sits on by Francis, Samuel, and John Bailey in honor of
their parents, Frank P. Bailey and Annie Mead Matthews.
The Collection
The museum's collection contains nearly 150 000 different specimens. Take the
family in one of our Fort Myers 15 People
Person Passenger
Ford Van Rental
Vehicle to see the many different shells and mollusks oceans around the world.
The shells and preserved mollusks on hand are largely sourced from waters around
Sanibel including the Gulf of Mexico. The idea is to educate people about the
animals and environment in this area and also to serve as a specialized center
of education. Students and scientists who focus on this area come to the museum
to study the vast array of animals in the collection.
A Visit to the Museum
After you have settled into your accommodations and have picked up your Fort
Myers 15 People Person Passenger Ford Van
Rental Vehicle, be sure to book a tour of the Baily-Matthews Shell Museum.
The more the merrier by the way, groups of 10 or more are given a discount on
the admission fee.
Tours are guided by staff members or one of the many local volunteers who
dedicate their time to the museum. Visitors are treated to a slide show on
mollusks and various displays that the museum has set up - live mollusks are
often part of this display.
In case you have not yet taken your Fort Myers 15 People Person Passenger
Ford Van Rental Vehicle on your own shell hunt, you can handle a special
collection of local shells as part of your tour.
A Great Hall of Exhibits
The Great Hall of Shells is a large exhibit area that can house over 20
different displays at a time - enough to keep you busy for an afternoon after
parking your Fort Myers 15 People Person Passenger Ford Van Rental Vehicle and
heading inside to visit the museum. The ‚¦Gifts from the Seas of Sanibel and
Captiva‚‚ exhibit highlights the common shells that are common to the local
environment.
The ‚¦Florida Fossil Shells‚‚ display shows guests to the museum what
they would have found if they had of visited 15-20 million years ago. Of course
your Fort Myers 15 People Person Passenger Ford Van Rental Vehicle would not
have been as useful then as it is now - the entire area was at the bottom of the
sea at that time.
Many other displays offer up fascinating information about mollusks,
something that many people who do not live on the sea do not spend much time
thinking about. Learning that some mollusks are used to create medicines and
that a certain type of shell was used as currency in different parts of the
world opens your eyes to a new and fantastic world of animals.
A Journal of Malacology
The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum also publishes a quarterly scientific
journal on the field of malacology - the study of mollusks. This publication,
the Nautilus, is largely supported by subscriptions, so if what you have seen at
the museum leaves you hungry for more information and knowledge, consider buying
a yearly subscription to the publication.
Collect Them on the Beach, Get to Know Them in the Museum
Mollusks and sea shells abound on Sanibel's beaches, some visitors even come
here just to collect some and bring them home. If you want to learn about what
these beautiful and diverse creatures are all about, then a trip to the
Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum is a must during your Fort Myers and Sanibel
holiday.
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