Expect kids and no quiet reflection time. Went around 2pm - no school groups but a ton of kids Restrooms - two sets:one (at least 4 stalls)in the front of building, one in the play area located near the maze. The first room contains about 20 "aquariums" housing an array of insects but mainly spiders. Nothing fancy. Rosie is awesome! My favorite quote from the front desk when I asked her how many Rosies they have, "When Rosie raises her rearend we know she is tired." There are four Rosies. Petting area: a soft starfish and a rough one, horseshoe crabs Starfish - when they "mate" their tank is really foggy. They had to clean the tank that day. Butterfly area - purposely humid. Crammed full of plants. Hanging bananas to attract butterflies and moths. I expected to see a few butterflies - there were a ton. Some sort of moth the size of a dinner plate. Children - screaming and running everywhere. Apparently toddlers love to run in circles. The maze - easy to cheat because they can run under the partitions. Guess it helps to prevent a melt down. read more

Great place for the kids. Lots of bugs and tarantulas too! Kids interactive play area where you can catch up on your emails for a bit. A bit overpriced, but supply/demand, the place was packed anyhow. There was a Kids free coupon on the kids coloring menu at Que Bueno across the street so my advice would be for the adults to have a nacho a margarita, grab the free coupons and enjoy the butterflies. read more

Lots of invertebrates, and friendly, helpful staff. It's a little pricey for how small it is but it's an expensive endeavour so I understand. My toddler enjoyed everything a lot and we did the whole thing twice through, but still only took us about 20 minutes. read more

This place exceeded my expectations. It was a very nice facility and everyone who worked there was very knowledgeable and nice. I'm so used to seeing butterfly's pinned up to a board but all of theirs are alive! They also have a whole section of cocoons & chrysalis where we stood to watch a butterfly emerge! It's a very interactive place and it is well worth the visit. read more

this place is great! i went not too long ago with a bunch of friends and even some family. if you have kids this is a must go kinda place. it's affordable and wicked educational. you get to hold a huge spider which, even though spiders make me want to pee my pants, i did. and it was pretty sweet! if you dont have kids still come here. it's a great day trip and will bring out the kid in you...you know the one who loves to play in dirt and collect bugs to show to mom. and let us not forget the best part. the butterfly room. you go into this lush indoor garden and these beautiful little guys..and sometimes big ones..land on you. great for pictures! the only reason this isnt a 5/5 is because its way far north for me... :[ but it is worth the drive where ever you are... read more

I expected it to be much bigger. In fact, it was so small that the price was insulting. I wouldn't plan a family day here because it won't take you to long to get through all of it. However, the workers were very nice and the gift shop is super fun. read more

What an awesome idea. We have been doing the at home catterpilar to butterfly kits for the kids but coming here was amazing. There are so many different butterflies and it's such a great atmosphere to be able to check them out. A must visit with kids. read more

Great place to go to, went here with my nephew. I can only recommend it if you want your child to experience and lose fear of bugs, spiders and some marine life. In general, if you don't show your child that it CAN be afraid of a spider, it won't :-). The main room with the butterflies is great, Rosie the tarantula is a lot of fun too (though I think this is not the original Rosie but one of it's many replacements) and it is easy to get there from either Denver, Boulder or the mountains as it is located right off of Hwy 36. read more

Family friendly, fun, and great experience! Staff is friendly, the exhibits are clean and well kept and the attractions are fun for all ages. read more

It was a great experience and very educational. We came out and my 6yrs old was already planning his next visit. Great for homeschoolers and young curious minds. read more

So much fun! Learned so much about butterflies and other insects! The staff was very knowledgeable about the insects. There is also 2 areas where you can observe bees! read more

Don't get me wrong, it's kind of a neat place. Lot's of beautiful butterflies and lush plants. It's tropical and warm (it was a brisk, windy day outside). I think it would be fun just to go and read a book. But after 20 minutes, you'll probably be over it. It's something worth seeing once, but it won't knock your socks off. Do yourself a favor and bring a 3 year old. Watching them is better than anything you'll see alone. read more

The best in-door date place. Very fun and romantic if you have a significant other to stroll through the butterflies with. Doesn't take long to enjoy and doesn't cost much. I haven't been in a while but I pass by everyday and wish I could stop. read more

Not only as a mom but also as an educator I love coming to this place. Their staff is knowledgeable and helpful. Every single time I have come here I have enjoyed this invertebrate zoo. They strive for quality as well as educational needs. As a mom I enjoy taking my daughter to this place because of the interaction with the animals as well as the unique variety of animals. They are continually renovating and making their building better. As an educator I love taking my students here because they are able to interact in ways that help them learn and better explorer invertebrates. They are very helpful here at the butterfly pavilion and they take care of their facility. Their outdoor exploration is small and not as interesting, but its a neat place to go when you want to just take a walk and look at nature. It is a fun place for kids and adults. Its a great place to take your family or your class. I highly recommend this place as a day trip for the family. Bring a lunch to have a picnic outside and spend a little bit my time looking at the butterfly. read more

Really a fun place. Just a neat little place in the middle of the city. Kinda expensive but worth the price. If you time it right, you can be in there when they release some of the butterflies! read more

Its ok. They remodeled the insect room, which took a lot of insects out. The gift shop has more to look at, than the actual museum. Borrrrrrring! read more

While it is rather small it isn't too expensive for what you get. All of the staff was very friendly and well educated about the animals and they took a lot of time to explain to parents and kids about what they were seeing (and touching). It was really cool to touch the horseshoe crab and the starfish as well as hold Rosie the spider and pet a hissing cockroach. If your kids are well behaved they will have a wonderful time. While parts of the pavilion are overrun by unruly and uncontrolled children for the most part it is well organized and allowed for a good flow from one exhibit to the next. If you take your time and look and learn about everything it will take about two hours to get through. read more

I have a two and a four year old and have been here several times. While a place like the zoo or the children's museum, we can visit again and again, the Butterfly Pavillion feels like something to do once or twice a year. With younger boys, there isn't too much in the way of hands on here, so they lose interest relatively quickly compared to other options. It's just a pretty small venue. read more

Glad this place exists, but I would not mourn for too long if it disappeared. Plus, I have butterfly-phobia, no joke, so it kind of freaks me out. Kids love it, though. There is a little maze/play area for kids, complete with a small zip line. Keeps them busy for a while. Then a room with some cool water creatures. And a room with a bunch of cool bugs. There's a guy sitting in the corner who will let you hold Rosie the Tarantula. Worth a visit if you have kids or love butterfies, but not a ton of re-visit-ability. read more

Maybe we just went on an off day but I can't lie, I left here feeling quite disappointed. There were kids here on a field trip and the chaperones just weren't doing their job. The staff at the Butterfly Pavilion tried to keep the kids from misbehaving and just running all around this place but it just wasn't enough. There should be a limit to how many people/kids can be admitted because it just ruined the experience for everyone. Maybe even close your doors to the public when you have a school field trip going on. This place could be a good daytrip if a field trip wasn't going on.. I guess I would recommend calling ahead and asking. read more

A great experience for kids and a really amazing day date for adults. Prepare to be in tropical weather. The garden is climate controlled and very humid, but the experience is wonderful and you might just learn something. read more

The best part was holding a tarantula. THAT was worth the entire trip. There are plenty of screaming kids running around, but the tiny exhibits of bugs and the butterflies were awesome. Definitely a good place to bring a friend. read more

Went on a rainyish holiday weekend with my 4 year old grandson and his parents. I think the adults enjoyed it as much as the 4 year old, but definitely need to be prepared for crowds. Nice interactive displays. The garden with the butterflies flying around was delightful, and staff helpful to make sure the kids were gentle around the butterflies. Being on crutches in a crowded space was a bit challenging as was parking near the entrance. It really isn't big enough to plan to be there more than an hour or so, but young kids have short attention spans anyway, so didn't feel disappointed, and a good place to head on a day when weather was iffy. read more

Fun experience but NEVER buy tickets online unless its the same day... in case of weather that would make it deadly to get there, it would be fine with me if they offered a credit instead of a refund, but no credit, no refund. read more

Very nice place but insanely small. This is a great place to take children under 10 yrs old. We went (2 adults) and was in and out within 30 minutes and that was walking around the same exhibit and butterfly enclosure slowly numerous times to feel like we got our money's worth. I absolutely love butterflies and insects but this place was a dud. It is just too small and there is very little to look at inside. The butterflies outside in the enclosure seem to be only a handful of different species, but there is a lot of them flying around, you just keep seeing the same kind over and over. Like I said, Kids under 10 will have a great time though. read more

You pay too much for too little of an experience. Safety measures are there I guess. But the older lady in the gift shop made us very uncomfortable that we don't want to ever return. Not even 30 seconds inside and she's following us. Yes we have kids but they are well behaved and we were trying to let them find something they wanted since the experience in general was underwhelming. A gift was to make up for the lack of fun. She didn't ask how we were doing just following us. Another family was inside and she continued to follow us around. We said forget it and only got something small and went to the register. No signs saying if one of them was closed so we stood there since she wasn't there yet. For her to tell us to move over to the other one where she can help us out. My card wasn't reading and she very sternly said to "leave the card in there" I kept all comments to myself since she's older but she clearly did all of that because of a race issue. Im Mexican and my husband is black. The other family was white and wasn't followed. read more

The conservatory area with the butterflies was amazing! There were even butterflies landing on us. Not only were the butterflies beautiful, but the entire habitat they created was impressive. I would love to go back on a snowy winter day to have a tropical experience. While we were there, it was very crowded during the butterfly release, so it was hard to see what was going on. The rest of the museum was pretty boring for my boyfriend & I, but his son loved it. It's definitely more geared for children. read more

I really enjoyed my time at the Butterfuly Pavillion, although I didn't attend with any kids it sure did make me feel like one. One exhibit displayed insects from all over the world and included roaches, tarantulas, stick bugs, centipedes, beetles and lots more. The piece de resistance was the butterfly exhibit. It was a wonderful experience to observe and admire the beautiful display of live butterflies. This place is where I would take any visitors for sheer fun. Admission is reasonable ($8 for general, cheaper for resident and if a senior citizen), however parking is very limited. The pavilion can take up a good 3 hours if one were to go through all the exhibits including the garden but my party only stayed for no more than two hours. I would recommend this place to everyone of all ages. read more

Came to enjoy the butterflies in all their splendor. I like this little pavilion. They have very informative exhibits and it's a good place to go with both adults and kids on a rainy day. We came during spring break, so it was not as enjoyable, as most kids were out of school and it was too crowded. This is a little pavilion. Much smaller than all the others I have visited in Europe in the past, so a hoard of screaming kids running into you when you are trying to create beautiful photographs of the butterflies is not pleasant. The nice lady at the counter told us that the best time to come is around the winter months especially on Tuesday as they are not as busy. They seem to get busier with the nice season. As a side note, the greenhouse is very hot and humid, so you will want to be wearing layers that you can remove upon entering. Their gift shop is VERY nice. The prices are pretty decent. Too bad they don't keep items in stock. There was a nice wallet I wanted to buy, but the lady before me got the last one...so that was all she wrote. They lost a good sale there...I would have bought 3, one for me, my mom and my sister...oh well... read more

See all

What a fun place! We had some time to kill and since our hotel was near this place we stopped in. We had SO much fun. Loved the insect museum (even though my husband is terrified of insects) and we even got to hold Rosie the spider (even my husband did it and was rewarded with a sticker). The butterfly rain forest is the real attraction here, however, and we spent a good hour walking among the beautiful plants and stunning butterflies. We loved it. As for kids, well they liked the activity for a while but one has to watch them to make sure they don't grab or chase the butterflies, and they seemed to lose interest fairly quickly. So I'd say a short visit for small kids but for adults or older children, a real treat. read more

Beautiful. Kids definitely love this place. If you go more than once, it's probably worth it to get a pass.

What a interesting and affordable family friendly place. I would allow a few hours to hang out there especially if you have kids. There is a small aquarium exhibit with some small fish. There is also a small bug exhibit which is pretty cool. The butterfly exhibit is very neat. We went on a cold snowy day, so it was nice to be inside a warm humid place. I would imagine that it would be a little unbearable on hot summer days. Fun place for all ages. read more

Great place for a family outing. A little expensive for such a quick trip through but we bought the yearly pass and it was worth it. Staff is friendly and knowledgable. We will be there lots more this year read more

this place is laways a win for my son and I, love seeing so mnay species of butterflies. They will come right up to you and land on your head. Great to get away and relax here, nice places to sit on the inside and you can hold a large trantula spider! read more

A lot of the other animals freaked me out (scorpions and huge spiders). The Butterfly Pavilion is well worth the trip. You're in a butterfly room with hundreds and hundreds of butterflies flying around! Against one of the walls includes all the cocooned ones! read more

Strength - Weakness - Opportunity - Threat S - Easy drive and easy to find off the highway (good signage) S - Nice greenhouse decor with pretty flowers, greens and ponds S - Variety of butterflies that fly like crazy all around you S - Greenhouse is an excellent place to take pictures due to vibrant colors S - There are tortoise there too S - Kids from 1.5-10 years are well entertained for 15-30 min (but 30 minutes seems to be the limit) S - On a given day, there are a insect/butterfly related classes and crafts S - A party area for birthdays or get-togethers (although I don't see why you would choose that when there's a Dave & Buster's across the street - hehehehe) S - Live spiders and water bugs and weird insects (if you or your kid is really into that - apparently, I'm not) S - Educational when it comes to learning about insects S - Prices. I guess it's reasonable for a certain degree. Adults: $7.95; Children (ages 2 - 12): $4.95; Children (1 and under): Free (2 free with each paying adult); Seniors (65 years +): $5.95 W - Weather!!! Be careful when you go. The butterflies are contained in a greenhouse that gets really humid on hot days. W - Size. Maybe I've been spoiled by the huge greenhouses elsewhere but this place was really small. It's about the size of a tiny restaurant. I went with an 18 month old and we were done with place after 30 minutes. W - The gross wads of banana that the butterflies sit on W - Presentation of outdoor gazebo garden was bare... truly. We thought it'd be this beautiful area but its like this mini dirt trail. That's it... oh yea, with a gazebo. W - On day's with face painting, be careful of kids running crazy or you'll come home with mysterious green paint on your pants. argh.... W - There are 2 scheduled butterfly releases each day. You think they'd just release a whole bunch of butterflies and that's it. Nope... It's a huge lecture. It's more of a release of long-winded information in a hot and humid room. Just let those damn butterflies go already!!! W - Prices. Pretty much, you're done with the place in about an hour to hour and half. I've seen longer movies for this price (but I still get student discounts for movies) Adults: $7.95; Children (ages 2 - 12): $4.95; Children (1 and under): Free (2 free with each paying adult); Seniors (65 years +): $5.95 O - If the greenhouse was bigger, it might be better. O - At least there's a Dave & Buster's across the street to go play some arcade games O - Mother's of infants and toddlers, please take a stroller with you T - Extremely hot days. Just go in your swimsuit since you'll come out drenched in a sauna sweat. read more

I was in Denver with my husband for a business trip and was looking for something to do with my 7 month old daughter. It was really cool to go into the butterfly room ( a little freaky, but cool ). My daughter was bright eyed and smiling the whole time we were in there. She loved it. Great place to go and spend an hour or two. Great for kids. There's all kinds of bugs and sea life to look at and you can even touch some of them. read more

I just went here with my little girl. But was a little pricey in my opinion for the size. $17 for the two of us. Plus, they didn't have the bee exhibit but should be getting it back soon. That was half the reason I wanted to go their. To show her how bees work. Probably won't be back again. read more

What an awesome experience. The friendly and extremely knowledgeable staff were great. I really enjoyed the ability to explore at my own pace. I got so many amazing pictures! read more

Amazing visit especially if you have toddlers. The actual rainforest-y space with butterflies is chock full and they will land on you and make for excellent photo shoots. Not too crowded, people are nice, more interactive than your typical nature-type museum. And their octopus was lively and awesome! read more