Butterfly Pavilion

Butterfly Pavilion and its collection

Butterfly Pavilion, opened in 1995, is a zoo in Westminster, United States.

The building runs to 30,000 square feet on 11 acres and holds five principal exhibit zones. Because insects are imported from abroad, the operation falls under USDA regulation.

History

The Rocky Mountain Butterfly Consortium formed in 1990 with the aim of building a public butterfly house, and the result opened on 15 July 1995 as a stand-alone butterfly house and invertebrate zoo. It became a Tier II member of the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District in 1996. Its first outreach scheme, the Bugmobile, began in 1997 and by 2010 was reaching 20,000 pupils a year.

Animals and collection

Animals on show include Golden Knee Tarantula, butterflies and tarantula.

Exhibits

The centrepiece is an indoor rainforest in which 1,200 tropical butterflies fly free. Wings of the Tropics is a conservatory of 7,000 square feet holding some 200 kinds of plant. Around 500 chrysalides are bought each week from butterfly farms abroad, and staff release the emerged adults twice daily.

Things to do

Things to do include Behind the Web Tarantula Encounter and Rainforest Yoga.

What the venue says

• Behind the Web Tarantula Encounter
• Rainforest Yoga
• Visitors are welcome to bring their own food and drinks to enjoy. The facility provides outdoor tables, grassy areas, benches, and a dedicated covered outdoor eating area equipped with heating lamps for cooler days.
• Free parking is available in our main lot at 6252 W. 104th Avenue, Westminster, CO 80020. The parking lot is accessible from both 104th Avenue and the US-36 Bikeway. Overflow parking is available during peak times. Accessible parking spaces are located near the main entrance.
• Fully wheelchair accessible with elevators to all levels.
• Butterfly Pavilion is ADA-accessible and welcomes outside strollers and wheelchairs into the facility.