Celebrate our planet and the amazing pollinators that help keep it green at Butterfly Bonanza & Pollinator Pals on Saturday, April 23! Enjoy free all-ages activities with admission, plus a live butterfly release and Pollinator Palooza Learning Lab for grades 3rd-8th – limited spots, see package options to reserve. Activities from 10am-2pm, museum open 10am-4pm.
All-ages activities — Free with museum admission:
Make wildflower seed bombs to start your own pollinator garden
Soar with monarchs on an epic journey to Mexico in Flight of the Butterflies 3D
Create a colorful mobile to explore the monarch’s life cycle
Surround yourself with videos of cute baby bats in our silo pop-up theater
Meet special guests who work with pollinators
Identify local wildlife like an ecologist, our spotlight STEM Career, with the help of iNaturalist
Additional activities — See package options below to reserve your spots:
Live Butterfly Release:
Welcome the next generation of pollinators to our local ecosystem! The painted lady butterflies you release will help to pollinate many plants, from asters to zinnias, and their future offspring will migrate across North America. (Limited spots)
Pollinator Palooza Learning Lab – 11am-noon and 12:15-1:15pm:
How does pollination work and why does it matter? Peek behind the petals as we dissect and magnify flowers to uncover their amazing anatomy. Study each flower’s parts, size, color and smell to develop a theory about what creatures might help spread its pollen. Find out if you picked the right flower-pollinator pair as you learn about botanists, ecologists, and other STEM careers. (For grades 3rd-8th; pre-registration required)
One-click package options
Pollinator Pals: Youth ticket + a butterfly to release ($12)
Pollinator Investigators: Youth ticket + Learning Lab ($14.50)
Pollinator Pro: Youth ticket + butterfly to release + Learning Lab ($17)
Pollinator Patrons: Adult ticket + a butterfly to release ($13.50)
Pollinator Patrons+: Senior ticket + a butterfly to release ($11.50)