Butterfly gardens give visitors an opportunity to view the beautiful, delicate and often brightly colored insects up close in a contained environment year round. Visitors are asked not to touch the butterflies and the gardens often feature enclosures to prevent butterfly escape and in which visitors are checked for "hitchhikers" upon exit. Famous butterfly gardens can be found in many areas of the United States.
Open since 1998, the Tropical Butterfly House at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle is a 4,000 square foot warm and humid enclosure through which visitors can walk. The science center imports about 500 butterflies each week from butterfly farms in South and Central America, Africa, and Asia, according to the center's website, in part because they do not have USDA permission to raise butterflies from eggs and the center doesn't have enough plant material for the butterflies. The Tropical Butterfly House is popular with tourists and school field trips.
Pacific Science Center
Tropical Butterfly House
200 Second Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109
206-443-2001
pacsci.org
Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, Florida, says it's the first park of its kind in the United States and the largest in the world. It opened in 1988 and keeps 10,000 butterflies of 150 species on display. It is primarily an outdoor park with aviaries.
Butterfly World
Tradewinds Park
3600 W. Sample Road
Coconut Creek, FL 33073
954-977-4400
butterflyworld.com
The Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden in the Detroit Zoo is home to butterflies from Central and South America, raised on butterfly farms. The zoo receives 200 to 300 chrysalises of 40 different species each week. During the year, it displays about 70 different species, according to its website.
Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden
Wildlife Interpretive Gallery
Detroit Zoo
8450 West 10 Mile Rd.
Royal Oak, MI 48067
248-541-5717
detroitzoo.org
The Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center is a glass-enclosed tropical conservatory in Pine Mountain, Georgia. It houses 1,000 tropical butterflies from 50 different species. The 4½-acre center shows "Wings of Wonder," a movie about the life cycle of butterflies. It has also received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification award, according to its website.
Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center
Callaway Gardens
P.O. Box 2000
Pine Mountain, Georgia 31822-2000
706-663-2281
callawaygardens.com
The Butterfly Rainforest is part of the Florida Museum of Natural History located at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The four-story exhibit is divided into two parts, a Butterfly Rainforest and Butterfly Exhibits. It also houses a large butterfly research center. Butterflies are released most weekends.
Butterfly Rainforest
Florida Museum of Natural History
University of Florida Cultural Plaza
SW 34th Street and Hull Road
P.O. Box 112710
Gainesville, FL 32611-2710
352-846-2000
flmnh.ufl.edu
