Liberty Science Center is celebrating spring with a thousand butterflies! The museum’s Butterfly House is open through May 8, and it’s an amazing way to get up close to some beautiful butterflies. The kids can watch as the colorful winged insects flutter about, feeding on plants and nectar, and maybe even landing on their shoulder or finger.
The colorful exhibit features two kinds of butterflies: monarchs and painted ladies. Monarch butterflies typically migrate between Canada and Mexico, 2,000-3,000 miles each way. They can flutter their wings 5-12 times a second and are poisonous because of the milkweed plants they eat as caterpillars.
Painted ladies can be found everywhere in the world except Antarctica and Australia, giving them the largest range of any butterfly. They can travel at amazing speeds of 30 miles per hour!
Liberty Science Center staffers release additional butterflies into the house every Wednesday night. They feed the butterflies nectar and fruit and even leftover fruit or peels from their lunch. (But don’t try to feed them when you’re visiting. Leave that to the staff.)
In an effort to protect the butterflies at the exhibit, LSC reminds visitors to be careful around these live animals with fragile wings. Let the butterflies come to you. Don’t grab, chase, or swat them. On your way out, use the mirror to check your clothes for any “hitchhiker” butterflies.
Entry to the Butterfly House is included with any admission ticket. If you visit between April 15 – 24, LSC is showing a 3D movie about the monarch migration in its 3D theater for an additional $8 fee. While you’re at LSC, you can also check out the new Minecraft exhibit, PAW Patrol: Adventure Play (which closes May 1) and much more.
