The Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum houses over 30 exhibits of mollusks from all over the world. These exhibits focus on the shells in art and history, shell habitat, rare specimens, fossil shells, common Southwest Florida shells, and many more. It also features a learning lab that contains a hands-on play area for children, games, displays, and a tank with indigenous mollusks. To complement the exhibits and displays, the Museum also shows videos including a children’s video and the half-hour Mollusks in Action.

The Museum is actually a specialized natural history museum. Its collection represents a huge fraction of the global biodiversity of mollusks. Its collection of worldwide and local mollusks encompasses about 150,000 lots. The collection continuously expands with a focus in mollusks from the coast of southwest Florida, its barrier islands, and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Museum offers educational programs and it also spearheads other projects for the community. It becomes a more extensive information center as it houses its own Library. Visitors can also check out the Museum Store for memorabilia and unique items.