I was pleasantly surprised when I visited the Butterfly Pavilion when my mom was in town. Honestly, I was expecting a "ooh, look. A butterfly. And another one" type of experience but I had a great time! I was pleased to discover there's more to do than see butterflies. They had a "survival" exhibit, featuring spiders from around the world. Some of those suckers were huge and you could hold one of them, under supervision of course. I wasn't about that experience, so I admired them from their enclosures. They also had an active bee hive, aquarium with a couple spots where you can touch marine life, an invertebrates exhibit with interesting beetles, ants, and other insects. The butterfly section itself was awesome, humid, but awesome. You're not supposed to touch the butterflies, but I swear some of them will try to dive bomb you -- those little guys totally do it on purpose to test your might or make you look ridiculous as you begin to swat them away, but remember you can't so you're stuck in an awkward pose. Nonetheless, there are plenty of beautiful photo ops and some butterflies are super chill, enabling you to get respectfully close to get a spectacular shot. Another thing to note is that the folks who work there clearly like what they do. Everyone we encountered was friendly and informative. The guy in the invertebrates exhibit was super cool and gave us the impossible challenge of finding the queen ant among her many minions. He also took time to chat and give us fun facts about the various creatures in that part of the facility. read more

This is a unique place: unlike the charismatic megafauna that zoos focus on, this place builds appreciation not only for butterflies but insects of all kinds. There's also a small ocean area with touch pool. The size and scope are a bit limited, they're bursting at the seams. The plans for their new location & building look to be a great improvement. The admission prices are a bit steep for the size, but as is often the case at places like this, consider an annual membership: for a family of four, it pays for itself with just two visits. And for those in the area, it's convenient to just stop by whenever you get a chance. read more

We have been to countless "kids museums" these past few years and this one is by far outstanding in our minds. They have done a nice job of showing a diverse set of animals while displaying and conveying information in an understandable manner. Very accessible for kids. The play area, kept our 2 year old occupied for over an hour. The butterfly indoor/outdoor space blew us away. It can be overwhelming at first but it's beautiful to say the least. So glad we visited when we were in town and we look forward to the next time! read more

I'm pretty sure the Butterfly Pavilion is for the kids, but let me tell you that it is definitely a fun field trip for adults! Overall, this awesome place isn't too large, but the butterfly sanctuary area was pretty sizeable. When you enter, the is a room on the right where you can see different kinds of insects inside small habitats. These included a few cockroaches, tarantulas, a few of the fun insects that look like plants, as well as a bee hive with a tube leading outside that you see when any of the bees leave. Located in the back corner is Rosie the tarantula. You are able to sit with the handler and have Rosie sit on your hand. Definitely overcome your fear of spiders and hang out with Rosie. When you leave this are, you will enter the aquarium section on your way to the butterfly sanctuary. Many different tanks hold everything from crabs, to coral, to Nemo and his dad and Dory. In the center of the room is a larger aquarium with a lovely lady octopus. We lucked out, and she came out of hiding for a beautiful display of nature. She swam around, showing us how she was able to match her environment, turning white when she was on the sand, purple while swimming around, and striped to match the coral. It was a wonderful site. Also in this room is an area to touch starfish, and also a stingray. Finally, you can explore the namesake of the building, the butterfly pavilion. It was so much fun walking around seeing hundreds of beautiful butterflies fluttering about. I lost count of how many species are in there. Near the entrance/exit is a glass display filled with live chrysalises. While there, a butterfly had hatched, and was drying its wings before it was released into the room with the other butterflies. Such a cool experience! Pro tip: get a pass to the pavilion using your Denver Public Library card. Sign up on the library website, and go for free. (You must get a pass through the library site before going, it is not offered on location) read more

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We ha d the best time! Great for a two year old and 10 month old. The kids loved the exit with the spiders and beetles! Then onto the butterflies. We walked through three times. read more

Such a cool place to visit! Definitely a great outing for families but also fun as an adult too! There are two rooms- one for bugs where you can even hold a tarantula if you aren't terrified of spiders like me, and another room has fish and other underwater creatures. And of course the butterfly pavilion itself! A definite must visit if you're in the area! read more

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First impressions are important, and this one wasn't the best. The parking situation is irritating, to say the least. I don't have children, but even I know it takes families with young kids like 15 minutes (minimum) to get in and out of the vehicle and ready to hit the road, or for the imminent adventure. When there's not a lot of parking spaces to begin with, this becomes a musical chairs situation, and in the worst possible way. (-1 Star) Once you're inside and have purchased your passes, which are worth the $13 adult ticket price tag ($1 less if you purchase online), the experience becomes much more enjoyable. My boyfriend and I decided to visit for our birthdays this past weekend. I was hesitant to go here, seeing as neither of us have children, nor know any children to bring with us. I needn't have worried though. We received no strange stares for being lone adults in a "made more for children" attraction. The place is rather small, but everyone is super nice and very accommodating. The butterfly area is definitely the main draw here (aside from "Rosie the Tarantula" whom I loved seeing) and it doesn't disappoint. There are butterflies EVERYWHERE. I could come here just to sit and watch them all day. It's relaxing and almost meditative to just detach and watch these beautiful, graceful insects. I have to return and bring my mother along, as I know she will LOVE this place. If nothing else, it's worth going once, just to immerse yourself in the beauty of the butterflies. read more

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The butterfly pavilion is so cute and is always so much fun! I'm an adult that was terrified of holding Rosie the tarantula, but it was a great experience. Great for a cute date for looking at butterflies and critters. Very educational and a fun experience. read more

Butterfly Pavilion - Museums Near Me - Westminster, Colorado

I've probably visited 20 times. This most recent time we visited around 4pm in the winter. The place closes at 5 so we knew we didn't have a lot of time. Around 4:40 at dusk, all of a sudden the butterflies started going absolutely wild, like 10x as much activity as usual. They were landing on everyone too. A volunteer told us many of the butterflies (or moths) are nocturnal so with dusk being earlier in the winter, if you visit at the end of the day you can experience their very active time. read more

Butterfly Pavilion - Butterfly landed on me - Museums Near Me - Westminster, Colorado

There's a wide variety of creatures on display from bugs, to crabs, to coral, and obviously butterflies! One even landed on me while I was in the pavilion. Plenty of good pictures and gorgeous animals. Worth a visit, but packed with loud children on the weekends. Def go during the week if you can. read more

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This place rocks! I don't care if you're there with your kids, or just looking for a break like I was, the Butterfly Pavilion won't disappoint. Visited last week in the middle of a tough work day, and glad that I did. Nice 45-minute break, was there for one of their two daily butterfly releases, and not only learned about the butterflies, but also enjoyed the peace and quiet. It's a man-made rain forest, and the staff is just great, making you aware of what's going on. Strong recommendation, lots of parking, just off the 36, a positive place. read more

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In search of something to do with a friend and her 2 year old daughter we made our way to Butterfly Pavilion! While I've heard the buzz for years - this was my FIRST visit! ++ Admission was super reasonable! At a mere $11 for adults and $7 for children aged 2 through 12 ++ The various exhibits inside were so fun and some were even interactive! Don't forget to hold Rosie!! Ha! ++ The Outdoor Gardens are so fun and gorgeous! While they don't encourage that you hold the butterflies, from time to time they will land on you for a closer look! ++ All the staff was so friendly and helpful! They gave clear and helpful directions throughout the exhibits and had wonderful informative insight to share about the butterflies in the Outdoor Gardens. Only downside during our visit was that they were pretty busy since we stopped by on a Saturday. I can't hold their popularity against them! Butterfly Pavilion was def a fun and informative way to spend our Saturday girls day! read more

Very fun and educational. We (two 40 something's) went today since we both are fans of our insect friends. The BP is an invertebrate zoo, so very cool to have one dedicated to our often overlooked friends. They have a tarantula, Rosie, you can hold, many beetles and butterflies, as well as an ocean themed area with some star fish and fellow water based invertebrates. It took us a little over an hour I would guess to wander through. The butterfly house was very awesome. Bring your camera! They had really great educational plaques and videos that as an adult I find well done. There were A LOT of kiddos when we went on a Monday afternoon. I was happy to see kids excited about our insect and arachnid friends, but it was a tad bit crazy in there. We still enjoyed our time. Would recommend a visit for sure! read more

Butterfly Pavilion - Museums Near Me - Westminster, Colorado

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I love butterflies. I got it from my mom. My childhood consists of seeing a number of framed butterflies on our walls in our apartment. A few years ago, my boyfriend got me a beautiful butterfly that was also encased in a equally beautiful wooden display case. Naturally, it would be great to have live butterflies around me. I would have to host my own pavilion, which I doubt I could do successfully. While in Denver, I found out that there was the Butterfly Pavilion. I visited this place towards the end of my trip. Parking wasn't an issue. There were plenty of spots. I paid for my admission ticket and spent nearly three hours observing, learning, and taking photos of various varieties of butterflies. Although it is called Butterfly Pavilion, there are other species to look at, such as fish, turtles, insects, and more. There is something for everyone. I enjoyed learning that butterflies love rotting fruit. They floated freely everywhere you went. It was a wonderful experience. I was relaxed and felt great taking photos with my DSLR camera with other photo-taking enthusiasts. If you have a couple of hours to spare in Denver and want to relax seeing beautiful butterflies and more, come here. You'll have a great time. (215) read more

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Absolutely wonderful experience with my girls today. 3 years old and just under one. What really made our experience was the staff, every staff member was so welcoming and helpful, Noah with Rosie the tarantula was such a gem with our toddler. Made the experience great!! read more

If getting butterfly kisses while having something to distract your kid(s) is appealing, definitely check out the Butterfly Pavilion. We took our one-year-old here for a play date with a couple of our friends and their two kids, and everyone had great fun. I had great fun watching my husband cower in fear at the sight of Rosie the tarantula. The kids had great fun; for example, they got to: + Check out the land insects + Pet starfish + Watch an octopus move very quickly around his tank + Touch beetle larvae + Check out an ant colony + Watch Larry the ringneck dove and Sunshine the 45-year-old turtle. (Not an inclusive list) Of course, we can't forget the exhibit that defines this museum: the rainforest-like pavilion filled with beautiful butterflies feeding on flowers and fruit, and doing mating and territorial dances in the air. I even got a couple of butterfly kisses on my hands. While I screamed the first time because I felt something tickle me before I saw the butterfly on me, I was much more composed the second time, almost like a Disney princess. Almost. All in all, it's a great way to enjoy time with the children for an hour. P.S. They also offer Rainforest Yoga where you can do your practice with butterflies fluttering around. read more

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Took the grandkids on a Saturday morning. Crowded, but overly so. We had an excellent time. The older grandson go to hold Rosie and he liked the ply area. I really enjoyed the butterfly room. - The huge gift shop at the end. read more

So gray for toddlers! We love that they also do little edit presentations and their gift store is great for getting presents. The only thing I wish they had was an area where we could have snacks that's not outside. read more

Great place for family and friends to enjoy. It a great place for birthday and holiday parties read more

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Awesome place to see a large amount of butterflies and have a close encounter with them! read more

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A great, inexpensive place to go with the kids or even on a mini date. It's not a very big place but you get your moneys worth if you really take time to view and learn. read more

Butterfly Pavilion - Butterfly landed on my hand! - Museums Near Me - Westminster, Colorado

We had our wedding ceremony inside the butterfly habitat (Wings Over The Tropics) and our reception in the ballroom/reception hall. We also rented the Colorado Backyard (COBY) for the kiddos. It was an absolutely amazing experience from start to finish! The Butterfly Pavilion staff was super professional and pleasant. Amber was very communicative and helpful and a joy to work with. We had an absolutely magical evening and would highly recommend Butterfly Pavilion to anyone! read more

Inexpensive except for gift shop. Wonderful enclosed butterfly garden. Cool fish and spider rooms. Worth the adventure.

We loved this place! It was amazing to get to walk through the butterfly exhibit, to actually be surrounded by butterflies peacefully flying all around you, some will even land right on you. Their exhibit is kept very clean & they provide a lot of educational information for children & adults visiting. There is also a room dedicated to sea life with a small touch pool that had star fish in it. My toddler loved seeing all of the sea life up close and personal. There is also another room full of insects/ spiders. When we arrived one of the workers gave children the opportunity to hold their pet tarantula. Again my toddler was fascinated by all of the insects etc that were on display. There is an indoor kid zone with lots of room to run, jump, slide & play. There is also a smaller area for children 3years and younger to play safely away from the bigger kids. We loved to gift store that had several educational items for children of all ages. Bathrooms are clean, they offer military discounts on tickets- when we went last week they were having a summer special with half off ticket prices, not sure if it is still going on but definitely worth full price anyway. read more

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What can I say? You have to put your house up for collateral to afford a trip to this museum. What do you get to see? A few butterflies. Not worth the price. read more

Butterflies are cool. Besides, your kids can't go to the Coors factory tour. Plus you get to hold a cockroach and a tarantula, but Butterfly Cockroach and Tarantula Pavilion is a tough sell. read more

A bit of a drive but a fun experience with littles. The ticket counter can be a bit slow and it took several calls to figure out what is going on with the membership we were gifted (turns out, sent to the gifter rather than to us) but once we got inside things were smooth sailing. The place isn't very big (we were in and out in 30 min) but there are some cool things to see, like the workings of the bee hive and getting to hold a tarantula. The butterfly area is awesome. There are butterflies everywhere and you have to be very careful not to step on any. We had to carry our 2 year old bc we were not convinced he would not try to run down a path and crush a poor butterfly on accident. There were quite a few dead or struggling butterflies around, which was sad to see, but also a lot of live and resting ones. We saw a bunch of different types which was cool, and the display of chrysalis by the exit door is awesome. The play area was my kiddo's favorite place and the area we spent the most time in. They even have occasional story time with the employees. Overall, a very educative place to bring kids and once they're bored of looking at bugs you can let them loose in the play area read more

We really enjoyed our visit here! We purchased our tickets online to save us time but I'm not sure it really saved us any time. We took our 7 month old in his stroller and he seemed really interested! I would say he enjoyed the ocean area and butterfly area the most. We like that it wasn't super long to go through the exhibits for the sake of our 7 month old. We're excited for the new location to open up in 2025. Great visit overall! read more

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Such a pretty place. I've been to other butterfly pavilions before and most we've had to search but here, the butterflies are abundant and I've had to swoop down a couple times in fear of being swatted by a butterfly. They have lots of different and beautiful butterflies and we even saw three turtles sunning in the pond inside the butterfly pavilion. There are other things to see: insects, you can hold Rosie the tarantula, a cool octopus that was super active while watching him swim so we could see how quickly he changed his colors to match his background. There's a small inside playground/slide for the kids to let off a little energy. We had gone on Saturday around 10am and it was during Bug Boo, which he had no idea about (kids come in costume and go trick or treating to different tables) so it was a bit busy. But the kids appreciated all the candy and the crafts they could do (like take home a pumpkin). Great place to visit. I'm sure we'll be hitting this spot up when visitors come from out of town. read more

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I've been here before, going back to the first year this place was open but apparently not since I've been writing Yelp reviews. I should have posted before now. We had a wonderful visit over the winter holidays with our out of town guests which included an almost 2 year old. She was as delighted as the adults and seemed to understand the behavior requirements. Though she did not seem to understand or delight in the fact that a giant butterfly seemed to enjoy riding around on her Daddy's shirt back. In fact the staff had to remove that butterfly delicately at the end of our visit before letting us out through the safe check zone as it was quite enjoying the ride. Really fun for the rest of us to watch. Also, a reminder, visitors of all ages need to watch where they step as there are butterflies relaxing on the walkways as well as the foliage. The self-tour was a lot of of fun. In the past we have been there in warmer weather, with hatching butterflies in great numbers. But even on a cold winter day, there is much to see. The tropical plants and warm humid air gave it a feel that almost let you forget the season. There is a small touch and learn room with basins of water displaying some tide pool residents too. Our toddler really enjoyed touching the sea stars. The storytime and learning talks are geared for older preschooler to adult visitors and can be quite crowded. But everyone seemed to be really enjoying them. But the bag lunch picnic area, though warmed with roof heaters was too chilly to really enjoy and no one else besides us was in there at snack time. There is a cafe but we left before a regular lunch time. There were lots of family groups from seniors to infants and it was quite busy during this school holiday. On past trips we have seen school groups here too. Other than coming when they first open in the morning it is hard to avoid so many people. The facility is moving to a larger location next year, I believe, though I doubt this will help as the new location is also located nearer to I-25 to bring more visitors in from Denver and beyond. Absolutely worth the trip from anywhere though. Buy a membership if you plan to visit frequently. read more

Great adventure for toddlers and grade schoolers! My grandson had a blast looking at butterflies, insects, fish and the bumble bee counter. He also had oodles of fun playing in the play area. read more

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Such a fun, different activity to do with your kids. We, the parents, loved it too- just as much, if not more than the kiddo. Especially the outdoor butterfly exhibit with such beautifully vibrant butterflies flying all around. Mesmerizing! Chance to hold a tarantula in the indoor section was awesome too! Innovative and fun ways of learning all around. Easy navigation through the whole facility in around 2 hours. There was an indoor play area for kids toward the end too, with options for face painting etc. Cute little store at the exit leads you to the outdoor trail. There wasn't much in the trail, in our opinion. But there is covered outdoor seating too, with a small hot dog stall, selling some snacks etc. You can bring your own food too-- I believe they had a microwave in the store too. A fun half day activity for the family! read more

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Look a kid with Down syndrome and she absolutely loved it! She got to see all the butterfly's and the different animals they had!

Beautiful space in Westminster and great fun for the family. My almost 2 year old loved that he could get close to the exhibits because of the stairs that are built around each area. From the tarantulas, the ocean life to the butterflies we were entertained for a solid 1 1/2 hours. It was crowded but not too crazy for a Saturday around 11 am. The butterfly releases are twice a day but there are still lots of them flying around throughout so don't worry if you get can't there at 12:30 and 3:30 for the official release. Adults are $11 each with a coupon on their website we each saved $1. Our kiddo was free since he's under 2. So for $20 and a short drive from Denver it was a great morning. A family membership is $85. The website has more info as well. Afterward we grabbed lunch at R Taco which was delicious and fast! read more

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Such a peaceful experience ‍ Loved every minute of the beauty in the butterflies and the gorgeous flowers. There are benches dedicated to loved ones, which melted my heart. Be sure to take time to sit and take it all in. I was lucky to be there with just a few families and their toddlers, however this is a spot for school trips...so bring headphones just in case. They have a butterfly release as well that was informative and cute...I had a butterfly land on my shoulder...I'll take that as good luck read more

Butterfly Pavilion - Resting butterflies - Museums Near Me - Westminster, Colorado

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Such a beautiful place! Very well kept, always easy to walk through and a great location right off or highway 36! Tons of butterflies, creepy crawlers and a beautiful bees nest! There's always good parking and easy access from the highway or back roads. They do a great job of keeping the kids quiet and calm as they walk thorough. The aquarium aspect never gets the praise it deserves because it is wonderful and very informative! Lovely place, I can't wait to go back! read more

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It had been years since we'd been to the butterfly pavilion and rainy weather with friends and a baby got us to an indoor activity. The space is great for kiddos and I love when kids are amazed by insects. The butterfly portion is rather relaxing which is saying a lot given the number of people in the space. The building itself feels a little outdated and is small but a fun way to spend a rainy day. read more

I needed something for the kids to do inside as their Florida blood couldn't handle the rainy "chilliness" of Denver in May (I wish I was kidding about this). I found Butterfly Pavilion mentioned on a number of websites and figured this was an experience unique to the area. So the three of us piled into our rental car and made the half hour drive (from downtown) to the Butterfly Pavilion. My preschooler had done a lot of studies in school about butterflies and I figured she'd be all about the outdoor butterfly exhibit. This exhibit has butterflies flying free, eating and drinking and camouflaging themselves amongst the plants. As it was, she walked through this area rather quickly. I was able to draw her attention to a few things but overall, it didn't last long. Right inside the entrance of the butterfly exhibit there were a number of cocooned creatures that were hatching. My daughter did take some time to sit on one of the benches facing the hatching area and watched some butterflies emerge. It was really cool to see this process take place right before your eyes. After the butterfly exhibit, we checked out the inside of the Pavilion. Here you can see various land and sea creatures, hold a tarantula, pet some ocean animals and learn a bit about conservation. Again, we moved through this area pretty quick, and within forty-five minutes the three of us were headed towards the gift shop and exit. I was very disappointed that this was all the pavilion offered. Definitely wasn't worth the price of admission. Then I noticed that to the left of the gift shop, there was a whole other section of the pavilion. This section featured hands-on activities and an indoor play area. My kids had a blast in this portion of the pavilion. I had to tear them away after about an hour and half of playing. They could've stayed a lot longer if I had let them. In the end the Butterfly Pavilion was a unique and fun way to spend an afternoon indoors. It offered a great balance of learning/experiencing/playing fit for a preschooler and toddler. read more

I work with adults with developmental disabilities & they always love when we are able to take a group for one of the daily outings. When we went last week, it was an amazing time - as usual :). The group that day had varying abilities & everything was set up in a way that they would all be able to enjoy. One of the educators there, Jane Hill really took the time and showed the group starfish - and let them touch one if they wanted. This was absolutely a highlight for one in the group specifically. We had someone who is unable to communicate with words and is not able to move around on their own so they weren't able to put their hand in the tank but Jane handed a demonstration starfish to me so that I could show her and let her touch and feel what an actual starfish would feel like. All of the staff there was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and willing to hear any questions that arose and answer. Thank you for a wonderful day read more

My family LOVED the Butterfly Pavilion. This was on our must see list when visiting Colorado and I'm so glad we went. My nephews were not interested in going to see "butterflies" but they loved learning new info and seeing all the different insects and sea life inside. The bees were my favorite part of the whole exhibit. It's so cool to see them come and go from their hive- in and out of the building. Also, listening to them buzz so close was amazing! We saw the butterfly release and my son enjoyed every moment of that. He loved touching the sea animals and playing in the indoor play area. He got his arm painted, held Rosie the tarantula, made souvenir pennies and got a squid souvenir. It was worth everything. It's so reasonably priced too! And to know that it goes back to the butterflies is great. read more

Butterfly Pavilion - Museums Near Me - Westminster, Colorado

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