Photographic Opportunities Galore at The Butterfly Place
Written: Aug 10 '03 (Updated Aug 10 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: educational, entertaining, the atrium is magical ... for all ages
Cons: sometimes pathways too crowded; gift shop is where the tickets are sold -- child distraction
The Bottom Line: An unforgettable experience ... surrounded by dancing butterflies. I want to visit again.
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| dlstewart's Full Review: The Butterfly Place |
This is a fantastic, magical experience! My brother suggested a family outing in August to The Butterfly Place in Westford, Massachusetts. So three generations of family packed into the van and off we went on a photographic butterfly safari. And we had fun!
What is The Butterfly Place?
The Butterfly Place is a man-made environment that houses a living collection of butterflies, koi fish, and blooming plants. At the heart of The Butterfly Place is a 3,100 square foot glass atrium building that stretches to a 27-foot height. We learned that the atrium contains up to 500 butterflies (50 species) from around the world. Winding pathways meander between lush greenery as butterflies of all sizes, colors and varieties flutter amid their visitors. One butterfly landed on my shirt, and before I knew it, every camera within zoom distance was focused on my new adornment. But let me start at the beginning of this journey.
How do I get to The Butterfly Place?
Located 40 miles north of Boston and about five miles south of the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua, New Hampshire, The Butterfly Place is located at 120 Tyngsboro Road in Westford, Massachusetts. From Route 3, take Exit 34. If traveling Interstate 495, take Exit 32. We used directions off of MapQuest and found them to be a bit misleading. The “right and left turns” were more like veers in a winding road rather than actual turns. But we arrived at The Butterfly Place, only backtracking twice. Once there, the parking lot offered ample parking space. Here are the directions from The Butterfly Place literature:
From Route 3, Exit 34: Take Westford Road south toward the Town of Westford, and go through two sets of traffic lights. One half mile after the second set of lights, take a right onto Stone Ridge Road. The Butterfly Place is the first driveway on the left off of Stone Ridge Road (approximately one mile from Exit 34).
From I-495, Exit 32: Go north on Boston Road to the center of Westford. At the common, go right onto Lincoln Street to Main Street. Bear left onto Depot Street (off Main Street), and follow Depot Street to Route 40. Cross over Route 40, where Depot Street becomes Tyngsboro Road, and The Butterfly Place will be on the left (approximately 2 miles from Route 40).
Pulling into the parking lot, we saw a pathway leading around the side of the building to picnic tables and rest rooms.
Admission Fees & Hours of Operation
Upon entering the front door of a house-like building, there is a counter, which was manned with two people. The counter is on the left side of the gift store ... so children might be drawn toward all the merchandise on display. We were lucky and had one coupon, offering either $1.00 off an adult ticket, or free admission for a child. We opted for the free child admission, which costs more than the $1.00 option. There were five adults and two children in our group.
Adults ** $7.50 each
Seniors (65 years and over) ** $6.00 each
Children (3 - 12 years) ** $5.50 each
Children (2 years and under) ** Free
Note: Children under 3 must be in a stroller, backpack, carried or held by the hand.
Group rates are available by reservation only and must include a minimum of 15 people. Advance registration is recommended as times are limited.
At first I thought the above rates expensive, then I read that The Butterfly Place is privately owned. They do not receive government money or grants of any kind. Visitor patronage is the only monetary support for this family-owned business.
The Butterfly Place accepts MasterCard and Visa as well as cash. Once the fees are paid, the back of the visitor’s hand is stamped with a butterfly image to show admission has been paid. I asked if I could not have my hand stamped since I find it difficult to eradicate stamping ink from my skin. No problem. One of the woman pressed a small colorful butterfly sticker to the back of my hand and cautioned me not to lose it. She also gave us discount coupons for return visits in the autumn.
Hours of operation are from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. April 1st through Columbus Day (no admittance after 4:30 p.m.), seven days a week. From March 1st through March 31st, the hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (no admittance after 3:30 p.m.), seven days a week.
The indoor exhibit rooms and gift shop are air conditioned.
Entering the Exhibit Area
After paying the entrance fee, there is the choice of directly entering the atrium or viewing the exhibit room. We chose to view the exhibits first since we had two children (ages 8 and 10) with us. We didn’t want to stress their attention spans and felt that viewing the quiet exhibits would be better done before entering the more interactive atrium. After all the fun in the atrium, we doubted they would want to spend time looking at exhibit cases.
This is an interesting room filled with live exhibits. There are about twelve glass encased viewing areas with a variety of butterflies and moths in varying phases of development (chrysalis, cocoon, caterpillars, butterflies). There are some great specimens, some of them looking more like alien life forms than caterpillars. Another glass case housed butterflies that were being kept in quarantine as they had arrived from out of the country. A large glass tank, centrally located in the room, had a butterfly feeder that the butterflies were enjoying. Yet another large glass case was filled with milkweed plants and hundreds of tiny caterpillars that will eventually develop into monarch butterflies. I had not realized the caterpillars started off so small. Now I know what to look for on the milkweed plants growing in my home butterfly garden.
Along one wall of the room is a large picture window looking into the atrium. Butterflies flitted everywhere! Seeing the freedom of the butterflies, all of us wanted to explore the atrium.
If I had to make suggestions to the staff at The Butterfly Place regarding this exhibit area, they would be: 1) Clean the glass on the exhibit cases. Many of the glass panes showed streaks as if fluid of some kind had dribbled down the glass. 2) Post more informative literature about the displays. This room has the potential for being a butterfly information source ... but there isn’t enough reading material.
A room off of the exhibit room has six hard wooden benches in front of a small television-style monitor, and a fifteen-minute video runs continuously. The video features the life cycle of a butterfly. Parents and children sat scattered around the room on the benches. I didn’t watch the video, instead strolling around the exhibit room again before we entered the atrium.
The Atrium
Posted signs caution: 1) No food or drink allowed in the atrium, 2) No picking the flowers or plants, 3) Do not touch the butterflies.
The atrium is protected by an airlock to keep the butterflies inside the atrium and to keep the 80-degree environmental temperature consistent for them. Enter one door into a closet-size room, close the door behind you ... before opening the second door in front of you. The humidity and excited voices of other visitors enveloped me when I entered the atrium.
It took me half a second before I started snapping photographs. The butterflies are everywhere. Photographic opportunities galore, whether the subjects are butterflies, gorgeous flowers, the koi swimming in a small pond, or the exuberant, sometimes awed expressions of visitors.
Despite the airiness of the atrium, it’s tall 27-foot peak, and the abundance of plants and active butterflies ... this is a small area. Pathways wind in circular fashion between the plants and through the atrium, but it would only take about five minutes to walk along the pathways without stopping. However, with so many beautiful butterflies to see, we took our time in this world of discovery. In each new direction I peered, another astonishing sight beckoned. Butterflies flew between and around visitors, playfully dancing above our heads. Each glance provided unexpected delight.
The walkways were crowded with visitors. Baby strollers sometimes blocked the paths, causing people-jams. Stone benches strategically placed along the pathways offered welcome respite for either those who just wanted to rest a bit before re-entering the sightseeing congestion or for people wanting to sit to absorb the beauty. No one seemed to mind the crowded pathways. Not once did I hear a complaint.
People were too busy pointing out the beautiful sights to one another and laughing as butterflies alit on someone’s shoulder or back. Children delighted in finding hidden butterflies and wrapping the people around them in their joy. Cameras and video-recorders everywhere, people stood happy to await the perfect photographic moment. Trying to get the butterflies to cooperate is another thing.
A popular photographic spot is a small alcove with an arched trellis loaded with blooming greenery. The butterflies favored this area. Slightly recessed from the pathway, families posed here for group photographs.
One huge moth, identified by a sign as an Atlas Moth, is a night dweller and rests during the day. This mammoth moth, larger than any of the butterflies, had a handwritten cardboard sign propped near its resting place advising visitors not to disturb the moth while it rested.
Just about everyone wanted a photograph of the large gorgeous blue butterflies. Stunning in their electric-bright blue colors, they swooped and soared, and when they rested, they folded their beautiful wings, taunting photographers with the spotted brown undersides of their wings instead of the blue that everyone wanted to photograph. These butterflies rest a long time without moving their wings. Maybe that’s why the gift shop sells photocards of these beauties for $3.75 each.
Having a backyard butterfly garden of my own, I was very interested in the plants growing in the atrium. It was disappointing not to find name tags or identifying markers near any of the flora. However, near the atrium exit is a sign posted on the wall that lists the various plants growing in the atrium along with descriptions and color photographs. The list includes: Porterweed, Fig, Mulberry, False Heather, Impatiens, Golden Dewdrop, Lantana, Butterfly Bush, Pentas and Castor Bean. There was so much plant life in the atrium that I have to suspect there were more plant varieties growing than the list mentioned. I also noticed that there were pieces of fruit, such as banana, set out on small dishes atop poles for fruit-eating butterflies.
A helpful gentleman sat in a booth between the two atrium entrance/exits. He patiently answered any questions put to him by interested adults and children. He had quite a gathering around him as he talked. I would have asked a few questions but decided to enjoy yet another stroll around the enclosure.
A small man-made pond filled with colorful koi sits at one side of the atrium. The butterflies dart across the water to and from the lush foliage bordering the pond. Discovering the fish was an unexpected bonus.
We could have spent more of the day wandering and re-walking the pathways. Blown air constantly circulates throughout the environment, which keeps the humidity at a comfortable level for most visitors. The humidity only bothered one of the children; the rest of us absorbed it as the butterflies would nectar. It was a truly remarkable experience.
The Gift Shop
After exiting the atrium, we walked past the room showing the always-running video and through the exhibit room and into the gift shop. The children, of course, wanted to spend their money as fast as they could. And the gift shop offered lots of enticements. Here are some of the offerings:
Earrings, necklaces and rings ranging from $2.86 to $19.95
Magnetic notepad with butterfly picture – $4.95
Large book of butterfly stickers – $5.95
Butterfly t-shirts: child-size $10.95 to $12.95 / adult $16.95 to $21.95
Butterfly logo ball caps: $12.95
Filmy scarves – $9.95
Butterfly Feeder – $16.95 / Nectar: $4.95
Butterfly-antenna headbands – $4.95
Butterfly magic wands – $2.50
Postcards: 35 cents each / 5 for $1.50
In addition, the store also offered an assortment of butterfly-decorated pens, pencils, rulers, key chains, magnets, hand puppets, finger puppets, butterfly hatching kits, stepping stones ... and even a few live plants such as lantana and butterfly bushes.
Our Impressions – Three Generations Worth
The Children – ages 8 and 10
The children immediately wanted to explore the gift shop, but were instead herded into the exhibit room where they were fascinated by the living butterflies in the glass cases. The ten-year-old read the placard explanations of each exhibit but once finished wanted to immediately enter the atrium. The eight-year-old wandered the exhibit room several times, commenting aloud on each new discovery. Once in the atrium, the ten-year-old started complaining about the humidity ... the other child started taking photographs. The younger child walked the pathways many times, enthralled. The older child enjoyed the sights, too, especially the butterflies landing on people, but wanted to return to the gift shop. They both enjoyed their visit and came away from the experience happy and with a greater knowledge of butterflies and their life cycle.
The Adults – middle age
Armed with digital cameras, the adults immersed themselves in this unique habitat. Seeking to photograph butterflies and family members, they dodged other visitors doing the same thing. When not photographing, the adults stood and savored delightful butterfly antics. Watching other people’s expressions and sharing joy with them at new butterfly discoveries was a pleasant part of the experience. If the children hadn’t become restless, the adults would have spent much more time exploring the atrium. They also enjoyed the live exhibits indoors. One adult paused to watch the video about the butterfly life cycle but quickly abandoned it to stroll the exhibit area again before being drawn into the gift shop by the children.
The Adults – 70 years old
Both of these grandparents love nature and butterflies. They thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the visit. After wandering the pathways several times and pointing out the large variety of butterflies to others in the group, the grandmother decided to sit on a bench and enjoy the tranquility of the atrium. It’s hard to believe that a place so crowded could be tranquil, but the butterflies are mesmerizing. After sitting awhile, the butterflies flitted around her head and shoulders. The grandfather walked the pathways several times, but didn’t like the crowded walkways. He returned to the indoor exhibits and watched the fifteen minute video on the life cycle of a butterfly, which he enjoyed. Both grandparents loved the experience and said they would return again.
Summary
All of us would return to The Butterfly Place again. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The Butterfly Place recommends setting aside an hour to enjoy all the offerings. We spent an hour and a half there ... and would have stayed longer if the attention span of the children hadn’t run out. This is a wonderful, magical experience. If you enjoy nature and butterflies ... or if you are searching for terrific photographs ... The Butterfly Place is an excellent place to spend quality time.
I hope you have found this review useful.
Enjoy your day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com
The Butterfly Place
120 Tyngsboro Road
Westford, MA 01886
Phone: 978-392-0955
E-mail: bflybut@aol.com
Website: www.butterflyplace-ma.com
The Butterfly Place in Westford, Massachusetts is affiliated with The Butterfly Place in Branson, Missouri.
Please read my other reviews:
2002 Toyota Camry
Crowne Plaza Nashua Hotel
JVC XV-N44SL DVD Player
Gateway 500X Desktop Computer
HP LaserJet 1000 Printer
HP LaserJet 2200dse Printer
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Jun - Aug
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