St Croix Seashell Museum Hours of Operation

Hours: 9 AM to 3 PM daily except Christmas

Location: The St. Croix Seashell Museum is located at the St. George Village Botanical Gardens, 127 Estate St. George, Frederiksted, Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

St Croix Seashell Museum exhibits are hosted by St. George Village Botanical Garden 

  • We invite you to visit the Seashell Museum.
  • St. Croix is an island in the Caribbean Sea surrounded by beautiful azure seawater, sand, and beaches. Many of our seashores have different types of sand dollars and seashells, such as the nerite, conch, and cowrie. Over the years these shells have been collected, used for building, decoration and also taken off the island.  Dredging, over-fishing, and pollution have caused a decline in our shell populations.  We have established a seashell museum to highlight and preserve these treasures.
  • Our exhibits include glass-covered display cases containing over 450 local and international shells and echinoderms. Here viewers are allowed to see the seashells and echinoderms, labeled with their common and scientific names.
  • Some seashells are available during programs for participants to touch and examine more closely. Details about the ecology and the historical and cultural uses of the seashells are also highlighted to better understand and appreciate the shells and the organisms that created them.
  • Equally important, we provide information on local rules and regulations so that this valuable resource can be protected. The seashells that are exhibited come from a variety of sources.  Some seashells are from the Department of Planning and Natural Resources and our own collections.   We encourage other St. Croix residents to loan or donate shells. Shells currently displayed in private home collections now have an appropriate venue for public appreciation.
Seashells from around the world
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Permitting

  • Collection of sand, shells, sea fans, coral, and beach rocks is prohibited in the Virgin Islands.
  • All shells and echinoderms in the museum that are native to St. Croix were collected under permits issued by the Department of Planning and Natural Resources.
  • Only dead specimens were collected from the beach.
  • We were allowed to collect 100 species, and only 3 specimens of those species.
  • We provided DPNR with a list of specimens