Kidspace Children’s Museum’s favorite season has returned. Following a busy ArtNight this Friday, March 10, Monarch butterflies will take center stage at the popular interactive children’s museum. And who doesn’t love butterflies?
“Biologists are telling us this is a great year for butterflies,” said Kidspace CEO Lisa Clements. “Of course, we always want to celebrate the Monarch butterfly because it’s such a positive conservation story, where humans have changed their behaviors and that’s positively impacted Monarch butterflies.”
And it’s poised to be a ‘super’ butterfly season for Monarchs as well as other pollinators, said Clements.
“We are going to see more Monarchs,” she said, “but also there are so many other pollinators in our area. If you just think about moths and butterflies and honeybees, we’re predicting a super bloom.”
Clements continued, “So there should be lots not only for children to see and do on campus, but when they go back home in their backyard, they should be able to continue their investigation of butterflies and bugs and see lots going on in their gardens.”
Among the many activities available to children at Kidspace will be the Nature Exchange, where they can view live butterflies and honeybees, learn about the butterfly life cycle, and celebrate the role of pollinators in a healthy ecosystem.
On a Kidspace Bug Safari, Kidspace will provide the magnifying glass and some expert tips while children pack their creature-spotting skills and join in a search for eggs, caterpillars, and adult insects all around the KidSpace campus.
Children can also create their own fuzzy caterpillar out of clay, and then add seeds to sprout a fuzzy caterpillar of their own to take home.
Like to be more proactive? Visitors can grab a watering can and learn about what plants butterflies and other pollinators rely on while helping the flowers grow.
Kidspace’s popular live caterpillar adoptions have also returned. Live caterpillar adoptions are a living science project the whole family or classroom can participate in together—the raising and releasing of native Painted Lady butterflies.
The whole process takes about two weeks from tiny caterpillars through metamorphosis to brand new butterflies, ready to release into nature. Caterpillar adoptions are available onsite through the Kidspace store or online at store.kidspacemuseum.org. (All caterpillars must be picked up in person at the museum. Caterpillars start at just $6 for one, and care instructions are available online.)
But is there anything more beautiful than a butterfly? Young would-be butterflies can also dress up like a butterfly, sit in a “chrysalis,” and take a selfie with a beautiful set of monarch wings.
Clements emphasizes the fun and educational nature of butterfly season, noting that, “It’s one of our favorite times of the year because any time that you think about butterflies, whether you think about them as these really interesting biological creatures, or you think about them as metaphors for hope and transition, you look at how they inspire art.
“Butterflies are super hopeful and inspiring creatures for people of all ages,” she continued, noting happily that, “We do have an entire campus takeover of butterflies!”
Clements also noted that Kidspace sees people of all ages participating in butterfly season.
“At Kidspace,” she said, “We try to design experiences that have a number of different ways for people to play or engage with each other.
This year will see butterfly decorations on the trike track as well as beautiful wings in the courtyard for children of all ages to put on.
Clements explained, “We play music and we have these flight paths that are on the ground and people just love doing imaginative play. It becomes sort of performance art.”
And it seems to span generations, said Clements, who pointed out, “This year we find many generations like grandfathers out there in butterfly wings. It’s really a beautiful sort of un-self-conscious exuberant community expression of color and flight and dance.”
To Clements, the great fun of a museum is that one can follow their curiosity where it leads.
Said Clements, “We’ve created this abundance of experiences at Kidspace so that kids can get curious about butterflies and the other creatures in the world. We want kids to walk away with this idea that the world is an endlessly fascinating place that rewards your curiosity.”
Kidspace Children’s Museum is located at 480 N. Arroyo Blvd. in Pasadena. For more call (626) 449-9144 or click here.
