My 3 Favorite Butterfly Exhibits
Since many folks will be heading to Florida for mid-winter family vacation or maybe Spring Break or Bike Week, I have to suggest 2 of my favorite Butterfly exhibits for you to visit. They Are Butterfly World and The McGuire Center.
The first is Butterfly World because it was the first and is still the largest butterfly house in the US, featuring over 80 species of butterflies. http://www.butterflyworld.com/
Now I have been to a lot of exhibits but all that you can say about Butterfly World is 'Oh My Gosh how beautiful." Even if are with someone that is not as wild as you are about butterflies, no problem, they will love it too. Case in point is my wife Claudia. I have dragged her to many butterfly spots from Canada to Central America and from Hawaii to the Dominican Republic. Now she really likes butterflies but she is not as insane about them as I am. But of every place that she has visited she claims the Butterfly World is the best! It is relaxing, beautiful, and interesting with lovely pathways to meander around. Her favorite parts were the hummingbirds and lorikeet exhibits. Claudia love the whole experience so much that I actually had a hard time getting her to leave the place. The only problem I found with B.W. is the gift shop. It cost me a fortune in there. Not that the prices were so high but because they have so many great butterfly items to purchase. I think that I wore the numbers off my credit card in the great gift shop. So if you were going to visit only one butterfly exhibit in Florida then Butterfly World is the place to see. If you do stop in make sure to tell the owner Ron Boender that Rick Mikula sent you that will set him to chuckling. Butterfly World is located in Tradewinds Park, 3600 W. Sample Road, Coconut Creek, Florida 33073 USA (954) 977-4400
Now if you consider yourself a hardcore butterfly person that is pass the stage of "Oh I like the pretty yellow ones" You may want to visit the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Hull Road, Gainesville, FL 32611-2710 (352) 846-2000. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/butterflies/
Once you walk through the doors you will be met by 'One Million' butterflies. Not all alive but rather most are mounted and replicated but very jaw dropping. It is a sight to behold. The museum's butterfly center is divided into two main public areas.
The Butterfly Rainforest is a living exhibit that supports hundreds of butterflies from around the world. The screened enclosure is planted in subtropical and tropical trees with waterfalls and a walking path. Inside the Rainforest, exhibit stations help visitors understand various butterfly behaviors they will witness during their visit.
A variety of exhibit experiences inside brings the science of Lepidoptera to life. Starting with "What is a Butterfly?" and ending with conservation issues worldwide. The exhibit centerpiece is the "Wall of Wings," which showcases thousands of butterfly and moth specimens and photographs, as well as film footage from around the world. The wall is a stunning tribute to biodiversity and to the research and collections mission of the McGuire Center. Other exhibits explore stories from around the globe and interpret science occurring in the impressive collections facility and research laboratories. As you walk through the center you will also have the opportunity to meet with some of the leading butterfly experts in the world. Jaret Daniels, Dr. Thomas Emmel and even Charlie Covell. They are all on staff and great people to speak with. So remember to take your books to have them signed. My signed copy of Eastern Moths by Dr. Covell is behind glass and hangs proudly above my desk. McGuire Center for Lepidoptera Is renouned world wide for their butterfly conservation research.
Now don't get me wrong the whole family will love the place and do have regularly scheduled live butterfly releases, but if you are hardcore this place is as about hardcore as it gets. If you stop in tell them that Rick Mikula sent me. Hopefully they won't throw you out but give to a discount in their amazing gift shop.
Now if your family gave you a GPS navigational system for the holidays that they found on the "SALE TABLE" and you end up heading North to Canada instead of South to Florida do not dispare you be on your way to The Butterfly Conservatory, 2405 Niagara Parkway, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada (905) 358-0025. http://www.niagaraparks.com/garden/butterfly.php
Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory features over 2000 exotic butterflies of the world in a tropical rainforest setting. As you make your way along the 600 ft. pathway you will witness over 50 different species of butterflies moving through a lush, climate controlled environment. Don't forget to stop at the Emergence window, or maternity ward, as I like to call it, to watch as newly born butterflies leave their pupae and prepare to take their first flight! So if you find yourself up in the great white north a walk through the door of the Butterfly Conservatory and you feel as if you were instantly swept away and dropped off at a Rainforest. You can also visit the Butterfly Café and enjoy a light meal or ice cream. It's a great place for the entire family.
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