subject: Visiting The Butterfly Pavilion [print this page] Denver, Colorado is definitely not one of the first places that come to mind when considering a vacation location. However, there a hundreds of family friendly activities that you can do when you are visiting your area.
One of the activities that your entire family may enjoy is visiting the Butterfly Pavilion and Insect Center. This center features a nature trail on which your family members can spot unique insects and butterflies.
In addition, there are tropical plants and gardens that you and your family will be able to explore. Most families take one and half to four and half hours to explore this wonderland.
There are several different exhibits and things you can do in this location. In the Wings of the Tropics exhibit, you can explore a 7,000 square-foot tropical rainforest.
Over 1,200 live butterflies live in this area. In addition, there are over 200 plant species from all over the world.
During the right time of the year, you will be able to see many butterflies breaking out of their chrysalids and drying their wings. You will also be able to watch as the works release the butterflies into the rain forest habitat.
While the tropical butterflies are the primary attraction, there also unique varieties of fish, turtles, and hermit crabs that live in this habitat as well. Take the time to enjoy this mini tropical rain forest and take pictures of everything you see.
In the rain forest, it will be warm and humid as this is the climate that the butterflies thrive best at. The Butterfly Pavilion contributes to the farming of butterflies by purchasing 500 butterfly chrysalids during each week.
These purchases are made from the butterfly farms located in rain forests from around the world. The cost of these operations adds up to more than $80,000 a year that is contributed to helping butterflies grow and live full lives.
Another exhibit you may be interested in is the Crawl-A-See-Em. Here you will be able to see live tarantulas, leaf insects, scorpions, beetles, giant millipedes, and so forth.
This exhibit is popular among young boys. Workers will even allow and help interested visitors to hold the Chilean Rose Hair tarantula named Rosie.
The Crawl-A-See-Em exhibit consists mostly of arthropods. Arthropods make up 80 percent of the invertebrate animals.
Characteristics of arthropods include hard exoskeletons, segmented bodies, and jointed legs. Spiders, insects, millipedes, centipedes, horseshoe crabs, crustaceans and so forth are all considered to be part of the arthropod family.
In this exhibit you can see and learn about over 35 different species of arthropods. This is a great place to visit with young boys.
Another exhibit you cannot miss with young children is the Water's Edge. The Water's Edge features a variety of invertebrates.
Invertebrates are animals that do not have backbones. Water is critical to help support and protect the bodies of sea invertebrates because they do not have backbones.
The family of invertebrates includes everything from a shrimp to an enormous squid. In this exhibit you will learn that the world's largest invertebrate is the giant squid.
You will also learn that the giant squid has tentacles that can grow to be 60 feet long. However, your children will love being able to touch sea invertebrates such as sea stars, sea cucumbers, sea anemones, and horseshoe crabs in this exhibit as well.
Another exhibit that was previously mentioned was the nature trail. The nature trail is located outside of the Butterfly Pavilion.
It follows the Big Dry Creek for about one half a mile in length. The trail loops back to the Pavilion.
You will be able to see a lot of Denver's natural wildlife here as well. Things you may see include prairie dogs, rabbits, herons, hawks, or even eagles.
The Outdoor Gardens is another exhibit where you will be able to enjoy exotic plants and wildlife. Your children are welcome to bug hunt here and examine the invertebrates that live in this area.
Another temporary exhibit is Dr. Entomo's Palace of Exotic Wonders. This exhibit is a brilliant circus show that features awesome, freaky, and incredible insects.
This show is interactive and designed especially for children. Children will also learn a lot about insects during this show.
Another exhibit that is going open soon is called the Legend of the Tarantula. In this show, your children will learn more about tarantulas.
They will be able to learn everything about this spider's anatomy, habitats, diet, behavior, and cultural significance for various areas of the world. This show is also very interactive and showcases 23 different kinds of tarantulas.
