Butterfly Wonderland in Scottsdale ~ A Review

Butterfly Wonderland is located on Via de Ventura and the 101.  It really was a splendid surprise last Sunday for our family! 

The adventure begins with a short 3D film about the migration of the Monarch butterfly. Part of our family is from Michoacan, Mexico so it was really cool to see the adventure of the monarchs when they end up in the elevated region of that state! My son loved the scene when it animates the changes happening while inside the chrysalis; he loudly exclaimed. "That was so cool!"

EMERGENCE ROOM

After exiting the theatre, we moved to the emergence room, where various species of moths and butterflies are in different stages of emergence. There are plain looking green chrysalis, bright gold ones that resemble jewelry and everything in between. This was my favorite part of the experience and we came back to this area 3 times.

SCORPIONS AND BEES!

The additional rooms of desert animals, including scorpions and tarantulas were fun, especially the backlight the kids used to find the scorpions.  There is a bee hive from which the bees fly freely out into the world to pollinate and return.  My kids loved that they could see the bees traveling back and forth. Connected to this room there are also some aquatic animals, including stingrays that you can touch for no additional charges.  There are no additional charges after entering the building, unless of course you purchase something from the gift shop. There is also a form that the kids filled out to receive a free prize on the way out too.

INSIDE THE ATRIUM

The largest part of the exhibit is the aviary, where butterflies flutter freely around your head and even land and on you.  A Blue Morpho and another unidentified little guy both hitched a ride on my son for awhile.  Some of our favorites were the Banded Peacock and the Monarch. We spent time in this room, observing, relaxing and identifying the different types of butterflies!

Outside, we were lucky enough to be at the museum while they had a special guest: The Birdman. We were introduced to many of his birds, large and small!  Although, this event was only offered at certain times, there are many different happenings at Butterfly Wonderland and you can check the schedule at:http://www.butterflywonderland.com

INSIDE THE ATRIUM

We spent almost 3 hours at Butterfly Wonderland and it really was bigger than I had imagined: a sweet surprise! We were staying at the Scottsdale Resort about 5 minutes away and they sponsored this visit.

Check out my review of the Scottsdale Resort HERE.