Butterfly Biosphere | Thanksgiving Point

The Butterfly Biosphere is the newest venue at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi. It’s 40,000 square feet which houses thousands of butterflies from around the world. In addition to butterflies you can find different species of other creepy crawly friends. 

My kiddos loved the photo opportunity just past the main entrance which allows you to pose like a bug inside a giant jar.​

The Butterfly biosphere features a Conservatory, a Costa Rica Climber play area and a Discovery Zone.

Upon entering the biosphere you’ll find yourself in the Discovery Zone, this area has educational exhibits and is an insectarium where you can see and learn about insects. The exhibits are presented in a completely kid friendly way and allow for hands-on discovery and play. 

We loved the cute butterfly paper rings that we made.

We then visited the Conservatory which is a heated, humid area perfect for butterflies to thrive. They’ll bring you into a little waiting area before you can enter and give you a rundown of the rules while in the conservatory and then they’ll also put you in a waiting area when you exit the conservatory just to make sure no butterflies may be trying to sneak out with you. The conservatory features dozens of tropical plants which help to keep the butterflies’ content and happy. It’s a USDA containment facility which means that they are able to display amazing insects from all over the world, including the beautiful Blue Morpho butterfly. 

Full disclosure, I am not a butterfly person. Something about things with unpredictable flight patterns always makes me nervous, but I really loved the conservatory. It was fun to watch the butterflies fly around and even more fun to watch the enchantment on everyone’s faces as they observed the butterflies.​

The Costa Rica Climber is a total hit with the kids. It’s a large nature-themed area with a large treehouse providing everything your kids need to pretend they are scientists exploring the rainforest. The tall treehouse area features a large slide and fun rock tunnels and there is also a separate play area for toddler aged kids with a tree that makes noises as you drop a ball inside a hole. 

It’s definitely similar to what you might find at the Museum of Natural Curiosity (another Thanksgiving Point venue) but tailored to the Butterfly Biosphere. 

My kids could have spent the whole the night there (and wanted to) and even the littlest member of our family (4 months old) was able to get in on the fun.​​​​

The butterfly biosphere is absolutely worth a visit. We loved the unique experience and my kids are still talking about it weeks later and asking when we can visit again.  ​

-KYRA

Guest
Entrance Fee(s)
*Butterfly Biosphere is a time-ticketed attraction. Please reserve tickets ahead of time to ensure admission.
Helpful Tips
  • Stroller friendly everywhere but inside the conservatory. They’ll ask you to leave all strollers out of the conservatory.
  • They have hangers for coats if you visit in a cold month.
  • The butterflies are most active around mid-day but it’s easiest to photograph butterflies at rest in the evenings.
  • Birthday parties are available at the butterfly biosphere!

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