SANIBEL, Fla. — In a sea of seashells along the seashore, Jorden Falker is in her element as the leader of field education for the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum and Aquarium on Sanibel Island.

What You Need To Know

  • The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum and Aquarium is located on Sanibel Island

  • Among the offerings are sunrise walks, aquatic snail counts and shell walks

  • Times and costs for experiences vary, and reservations are required

If there’s something cool in this dotted sand scape, she’ll find it.

“I loved shelling as a kid. So I guess it’s fun to be paid to do it now,” Falker said.

This Field Education Walk lasts about 45 minutes, and the beach spot Falker chooses is Gulf Side City Park.

The search begins along the water’s edge, where Falker picks up a shell and tells the story of life behind it for visitors.

“They are kind of putting two pieces of the puzzle together,” Falker said.

That puzzle begins at the end of the sea snail’s life, and it is one that Falker makes her life's work.

“It’s just a great hobby that is now something I get paid to share this hobby with other people. And it’s amazing,” Falker said.

In addition to shell walks, there are mollusk counts and sunrise walks.

The Great Hall of Shells, which originally opened in 1995, sustained significant damage in Hurricane Ian and is being redesigned to show off a great diversity and quantity of shells. It is expected to reopen in early 2025.

The times and costs vary, and reservations are required, so visitors need to make a reservation in advance online.

Among the shells we found were a West Indian fighting conch, an Atlantic fig snail/ paper fig, a crown conch, a carnivorous shark’s eye and a turkey wing shell.