Butterflies are pretty dang cool guys. Every Spring I do a butterfly lesson with my students and during that time period we usually (budget permitting) go on a field trip to Michigan State University's Butterflies in the Garden. The kids love it, the parents love it and the teachers love it - plus its hands on and educational. It's a total win.
Generally beginning sometime in March and going through April, the Butterfly House is opened up for classroom visits and other people who are interested. Michigan State has some really beautiful gardens, and the butterflies are located inside one of the buildings. Parking during the week is metered, but on the weekends is free.
While there you are able to see everything about the life cycle of a butterfly. You get to see the eggs on the plants in the gardens, you can even see the larva eating leaves and of course the chrysalis! Once the chrysalis is formed, they put them into a separate box type thing and its super neat to watch. When we were there, some butterflies were emerging. The kids LOVED it.
They have sponges filled with "nectar" placed around the gardens so that you can get some on your finger and "invite" a butterfly on you. This is awesome, my kids just got their fingers wet and walked around with their index fingers extended waiting for a butterfly to land. Some of them got lucky, as evidenced by the previous pictures.
This is a great activity for a family to do. It's open Monday-Friday 2pm - 4pm to the public and then Saturday and Sunday 10am- 4pm. They also have a great event on Saturday April 25th, called Butterfly Day. For more information visit their website.
If you live in or ever find yourself near East Lansing, Michigan in the spring (or the summer, the 4H gardens are amazing!) make an effort to swing by and view some butterflies!
MSU Gardens have no idea who I am outside of my scheduling field trips with them. I just truly love them and the experience and wanted to share it.
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