National Museum of Natural History: Butterflies!

Thank goodness spring has finally sprung.  There is nothing like a long winter to make you rethink being a one-car family.  Brian and I have shared a car for the last decade, but I think it's about time he gets his own.  The boys and I have gotten pretty bad cabin fever these last months.  We did have a great first day of spring when we walked up to DQ for mini blizzards and to the library, but for the most part all the snow/road dirt/rain on the sidewalks have limited our walking outdoors.  Theo took swim lessons all through March, so we were actually walking to school or the rec center for every day of the month, and it was probably the worst of all the months to do so.  Now that swim lessons are over, we are happy to get out and about some more, and resurrect our weekly #dayinthecity when we drop off Brian at work, spend a good seven or so hours around DC and then nap (the boys) until Brian's ready to leave work.

When I saw recently that the Butterfly Pavilion that is in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is FREE on Tuesdays, I started planning our next day.

Some notes for anyone interested in visiting:

After walking past the exhibit before, I knew that it is HOT inside (and misty), and that strollers cannot be taken inside, so pack/dress accordingly.  I saw someone actually use a bike lock to secure their stroller today, though I have never lost one just leaving it outside an exhibit.  Tickets are normally $6 for adults and $5 for children.  On Tuesdays, you need to head to the box office at the exhibit on the second floor and get timed entry tickets.  We were at the museum just a few minutes after opening (10am) and ended up with tickets for 12:30pm.  Tickets went pretty fast.  Inside there were plenty of butterflies, moths, and chrysalids to delight everyone.  (Sorry I don't have better photos, it was hard to get photos with my 18 month clinging to me because he was scared of the misters.)

To complete your caterpillar/butterfly themed visit, you could:

• Watch the IMax movie Flight of the Butterflies at the museum.
• Work on some symmetry with this butterfly themed busy-bag while waiting in line for tickets/timed entry.
• Check out the rest of the Insect Zoo to learn about other flying/crawling things, and see some of the most gorgeous chrysalids.
• Take a break outside on the mall while reading The Very Hungry Little Caterpillar, Gotta Go, Gotta Go, or The Butterfly Alphabet Book.
• Pack a picnic breakfast/lunch and have banana butterflies, fruit butterflies, or crescent rolls and smoked sausage butterflies.
• Hunt for eggs/caterpillars/chrysalids outside in the Butterfly Garden, located right next to the museum.

 

*Additional tips for those visiting DC: the scaffolding is ALMOST off the Washington Monument (following the earth quake we felt in Delaware 3 years ago).  It should reopen next month.  The cherry blossom festival is underway, though the blossoms aren't out yet.  The peak bloom should be:  April 8-12.  And sadly, after noticing how great the Arts and Industry building looks today, I researched when it will reopen and even though the decade long renovation is nearing completion, they do not currently have the money to reopen it.*