Major butterfly exhibit opening in Arizona

Featuring a glass atrium with 150 species, Butterfly Wonderland opens in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Saturday, on a five-acre parcel on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.

The new attraction brings a tropical rainforest environment right into the middle of the Arizona desert. Butterfly Wonderland will also feature educational laboratories, interactive exhibits, and a 3-D movie theater along with a gift shop and café.

In addition to seeing more than 3,000 butterflies, visitors can stop by the Rivers of the Amazon to check out some aquatic life, an ant colony, and the Honey Bee Extravaganza exhibit that features of series of beehives (protected by glass, of course).

Butterfly Wonderland will hold a special grand opening celebration in conjunction with “National Butterfly Awareness Day” on June 1.

Butterfly Wonderland’s opening marks the first phase of the planned “Odysea in the Desert” entertainment complex that will also eventually feature the largest aquarium in the southwest, an IMAX theater, and a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum.

Butterfly Wonderland; www.butterflywonderland.com; 9500 E. Via de Ventura, Scottsdale; (480) 800-3000
Admission: Adults $18.95, Children ages 3-11 $9.95, Students $16.95
Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily

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