Butterfly Biosphere

Today our last butterfly emerged, as predicted. The weather today was mid 60s for a high, mid 40s for a low, but the forecast for next week is highs in the 50s, lows in the 30s! So I didn't want to release the butterfly outside. I asked on facebook if anyone in SLC was headed to southern Utah, but didn't get any takers. So plan B - the Butterfly Biosphere at Thanksgiving Point. I hadn't been to the conservatory before today, so it was a fun new experience. I didn't call ahead to ask if they took butterflies, we just went hoping for the best, and if they wouldn't, I figured I'd hold my kids captive for a ride south and we'd spend the day in the car. I told them that was the plan. Lucky for them, the biosphere took our little lady no problem. Other than she flew away for a minute from us in the lobby. A person at the desk caught her and took her in, we followed. Then Lily held it again as we waited for it to fly away into it's new controlled temperature greenhouse home.

It didn't want to leave, so it hung onto Lily for a while. Then Lily tried to let Natalie have a turn, I thought this was a precious photo - reminded me of the one of Mel and the little girls at the beach (pic 2)

In the pic above and the beach pic, I love seeing all their attention focused in on some little amazing creature and being present with the little wonders of this world. Abi got a big white butterfly to land on her - 

She's like a Disney Princess - at one with the animal kingdom...

 

Lily had a few of those moments too. She was in awe an dfelt she had entered into a magical place! She was happy when she got one of the big blue butterflies. They were really big!

So I kinda feel bad that I've chosen for this butterfly a life of captivity, but I also think that there should be butterflies in the biosphere - it's important for children to have a place where they can be up close with these little wonders. We were all amazed by the wall of chrysalis's, wow!!! So many different kinds!! And most of the chrysalis were pretty ugly and gross looking. No offense butterflies, but monarchs are my favorite. We were excited when we saw monarchs in the biosphere. Is that our girl? Did she find a male companion?

Well that's good that she has some monarch company. So yeah, she's not really wild and free now that she's living in the biosphere, but hey, it's better than freezing to death. And it seems to be a very lovely place to live and to have everything a butterfly could want, from what I could tell from my non butterfly perspective. It kinda reminds me of the Garden of Eden. Perfect, but not ideal, maybe cause it's too easy... we need to go out in the world and experience the storms of life in order for us to truly understand joy. So, there's the gospel parallel for ya. Owen might say that the bugs were a bit to close for comfort... Here I tried to take a picture of the kids and there is a little butterfly flying by in front of Sophi's shirt - and Owen did not like that.

Ok, take 2 - and Abi remembered Peter should be included.

Natalie was sad cause none of the butterflies were landing on her. But I needed to get Owen and Daniel out of there, so we left and I told the girls I'd be waiting for them in the discovery zone.
But then we went to the "Costa Rica Climber" playplace instead. Owen and Daniel went down the slide while I fed Peter. They also had a wind thing showing how the butterflies get blown up high by the wind - Owen letting go a yellow fabric in the wind chute.

Soon the girls found us. 

Soph helped Daniel build a castle for his caterpillar, which he proudly showed me - 

Lily turned Peter into a Lady bug. .

Peter, do you like being a ladybug?!?

What a cute little guy. Up the stairs on the way to the slide, there was a treehouse area where the kids could learn more about insects and imagine their own "entomology field research". 

They did some research on a orchid bee.  

It actually looked more to me like they had abducted some alien and were doing research on him.

But they looked cute in their little white trench coats. Then I was about done, so we attempted to leave, but got side tracked in the Discovery Zone. Climbing on a caterpillar...

Lily is in a chrysalis!

And soon she turned into a butterfly, layed her egg on a milkweed plant leaf, and started the cycle over again. 

"Take a picture of us!"

 One final pics - some bugs in a jar., haha cute. 

And then after that we finally did walk over to the dinosaur museum, cause Owen insisted we go (despite my trying to buy him out with ice cream). We were able to get through it quickly enough. I fed Peter while they played at the water table, luckily we've seen it all. But checked it off for Owen, then we headed home. It was a great outing, 4 hours with 7 kids, go me.