One of the special places we like to visit with our grandchildren is the Butterfly Pavilion located at 6252 W. 104th Avenue Westminster, Colorado.
Information from their website states:
"Butterfly Pavilion is the first stand-alone, Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited non-profit invertebrate zoo in the world and a leader in invertebrate knowledge, inspiration, and connection. Whether it is providing unique, hands-on learning experiences in our exhibits and educational programs, conducting new research that sets the standard for zoos across the country, or building innovative solutions for species and habitat conservation in countries around the world, Butterfly Pavilion is leading the way in ensuring invertebrates are protected for the future."
Located in a large greenhouse-type conservatory called the "Wings of the Tropics," visitors are surrounded by over 1,600 butterflies that hail from around the world. They are all flying free within the brightly lit climate-controlled environment which is kept at 80 degrees, making it the ideal climate for butterflies and the over 200 lush tropical plants and flowers that grow inside.
It is a photographer's dream to try to capture the beautiful colorful butterflies as they alight on the leaves and flowers!
My husband was wearing a yellow shirt and we discovered that the butterflies were very attracted to his shirt as they kept landing on him.
We also noticed that the butterflies appeared to enjoy sipping from the water-soaked sponges hanging from the trees. It gave us the idea to try this at our home as moisture can be hard to find for butterflies in our drought conditions.
The many tropical flowers growing in the pavilion were also wonderful to see!
A fun part of a visit is being able to hold Rosie the Tarantula. As you can see from the collage above three of our grandchildren were brave enough to do so! Would you be as brave as they were?
The Butterfly Pavillion has exhibits about other invertebrates--as it is an invertebrate zoo. About 97 percent of all the animals in the entire world are invertebrates, animals without backbones. Some exciting news we learned is that a new 60,000 sq foot center(5,574 sq meters), which will be called the Butterfly Pavilion at the Center for Invertebrate Research and Conservation (CIRC), is being constructed in Broomfield, Colorado. It will become the Global Hub for Invertebrate Research, Conservation, and Education.
The video above will explain more about the present Butterfly Pavillion and the future new Center for Invertebrate Research and Conservation.
We all had lots of fun at the Butterfly Pavillion and can't wait to visit again!
Even our ride home was beautiful as we could see some puffy clouds and snow-capped mountains in the distance as we passed by Standley Lake.The weather has turned warm here in Colorado--summer is on its way!
One of the wonderful places we visited last summer, with our oldest granddaughter, was the Butterfly Pavilion, which is conveniently located just 15 minutes from downtown Denver off Hwy 36 at 6252 W. 104th Avenue in Westminster, Colorado. The Butterfly Pavilion, founded in 1995, is the first stand-alone, Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited non-profit invertebrate zoo in the world! Their immersive exhibits provide guests the opportunity to discover the wonders of nature's hidden heroes through hands-on, interactive experiences that are catered to all ages. (All photos and collages will enlarge if clicked on)
As you can see in my video above, as soon as one walks into the extensively skylighted conservatory area called "Wings of the Tropics" you are surrounded by over 1,200 butterflies that hail from around the world. They are all flying free within the brightly lit climate-controlled environment which is kept at 80 degrees, making it the ideal climate for butterflies and the over 200 lush tropical plants and flowers that grow inside.
It was quite exciting to have butterflies flying all around you as you walk on the paths inside the pavilion. They sometimes even land on your clothes and hands.
It can also be a photographer's dream to be able to take photos of all the different colorful butterflies as they rest on leaves and flowers...
...and I could spend hours there!
There was a butterfly release, and a few different educational demonstrations presented to the children during our visit which added to the overall experience.
Some of the many different tropical flowers, ferns, and fauna within the rainforest area.
The Butterfly Pavilion purchases butterfly chrysalides (butterfly pupae) from butterfly farms in tropical rainforests around the world. This allows people that live in or near rainforests the opportunity to make a living to support their families without having to cut down the rainforest trees. Visitors can watch the butterflies emerge from their chrysalides, and twice a day can watch the staff release them into the rainforest.
In another section of the pavilion, there is an area called "Water's Edge." It has exhibits about animals in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean tide pools. Visitors can see and touch sea stars, sea cucumbers, and horseshoe crabs. Also, there is an exhibit area called "Crawl-A-See-Em" which allows visitors to observe tarantulas, leaf insects, scorpions, beetles, giant millipedes...
...and even hold Rosie, a Chilean rose hair tarantula!
That was really the highlight of our visit for my granddaughter--she is a brave little girl!
Hello and welcome!
I'm Pat, a lifelong New Yorker who has recently moved to a suburb of Denver in the beautiful state of Colorado, so that I can live close to my children and grandchildren. I look forward to learning many new things about my new "mile high" city and I will share them on my blog.
New York City will always be my second home, and I will also continue to share many posts about it.
My blog's name in Italian means a "Thousand Favorite Flowers." I chose this unusual blog name because researching and writing for my blog, and taking photogrpahs for it, is like another "memory flower" that I am collecting in my bouquet of life.
I hope you will enjoy your visit to my blog and that you will leave a comment so that I know you've been here.
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