Sometimes the smallest creatures create the biggest sense of wonder. Our visit to Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, Colorado, also came with a great bonus, our Tulsa Zoo membership saved us 50% on admission.
~1,395 words10 sectionsAug 27, 2026Not Your Typical Zoo
When we visit a zoo, we are usually looking for animals that are hard to miss. Elephants, giraffes, bears, lions, and other large animals naturally command attention.
Our visit to Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, Colorado, was completely different.
Here, the stars are small.
Very small.
Butterflies, spiders, beetles, and other invertebrates take center stage, and that change in perspective is part of what made our visit such an amazing experience.
Butterfly Pavilion isn't simply a room filled with butterflies. It is an accredited zoological facility devoted to animals that many of us encounter throughout our lives without ever really stopping to appreciate.
In fact, Butterfly Pavilion was reaccredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) in March 2026 and is currently accredited through March 2031.
That makes this an especially interesting stop for Zoos4You. It gives an entire zoological facility to animals that might occupy only a small corner of a traditional zoo.
And they are more interesting than you might think.
Walking Among the Butterflies
The experience most people probably associate with Butterfly Pavilion is Wings of the Tropics, its walk-through tropical conservatory.
The environment is noticeably warm and humid—it is maintained at about 80 degrees Fahrenheit and 80 percent humidity—and the space is filled with tropical plants and free-flying butterflies. Butterfly Pavilion reports that more than 1,800 butterflies representing over 200 species from around the world may be found in the conservatory.
But numbers don't really explain the experience.
The special part is simply being in the same space with them.
Instead of standing on one side of an exhibit barrier, you walk through their environment while butterflies move freely around the conservatory. Some are easy to notice immediately. Others make you look a little more closely.
And looking closely becomes something of a theme here.
At a large zoo, it is easy to walk from one major animal to the next. Butterfly Pavilion encourages a different pace. The interesting thing may be sitting on a leaf, tucked against a branch, or moving quietly through the plants.
For a place filled with such small animals, there is a surprising amount to see.
Watching a Butterfly'S Story Begin
One of the most interesting areas is the Chrysalis Chamber, where visitors can see chrysalises and observe one of the most remarkable transformations in the animal world.
Butterfly Pavilion uses the chamber to give visitors a window into the stage between caterpillar and adult butterfly. Newly emerged butterflies are eventually released into Wings of the Tropics.
Most of us learned this life cycle when we were children:
Egg. Caterpillar. Chrysalis. Butterfly.
It sounds simple when it is reduced to four pictures in a textbook.
Seeing the chrysalises themselves makes the process much more real.
That is one of the things we enjoy about zoos and wildlife attractions. Good exhibits have a way of taking something you thought you already understood and making you curious about it all over again.
You don't necessarily need a formal lesson.
Sometimes you just need the opportunity to stand there and look.
There Is Much More Here Than Butterflies
The name may be Butterfly Pavilion, but butterflies represent only part of the story.
Other exhibits introduce visitors to spiders, beetles, and a wide variety of arthropods and other invertebrates.
The Survival exhibit, for example, includes Rosie, the Pavilion's Chilean rose hair tarantula, along with numerous other arthropods. The exhibits focus attention on the ways these animals survive and adapt to their environments.
There is something valuable about giving these animals the spotlight.
Butterflies are easy to love.
Spiders and beetles may have a tougher public-relations job.
But spending time around animals we normally overlook—or sometimes actively avoid—can make us see them differently.
A spider doesn't have to become your favorite animal for you to appreciate that it has a place in nature.
And you don't have to want a beetle in your house to become interested in what beetles actually do.
That change in perspective may be one of Butterfly Pavilion's greatest strengths.
Why Such Small Animals Matter
Invertebrates perform jobs that are incredibly important to the natural world.
Different species pollinate plants, break down organic material, recycle nutrients, serve as food for other animals, and contribute to healthy ecosystems.
Without them, the world around us would look very different.
Butterfly Pavilion takes that idea beyond its exhibits through active conservation and research programs.
The Colorado Butterfly Monitoring Network, for example, uses volunteers to collect information about butterfly populations throughout Colorado. That data can help researchers and land managers better understand what is happening with local butterfly species.
Its Urban Prairies Project works to improve native prairie habitat in urban and suburban areas, helping provide better habitat for pollinators and other wildlife. The organization also conducts research involving Colorado fireflies, tarantulas, butterfly longevity, and other invertebrates.
That is a conservation story we don't hear nearly as often.
Large endangered animals understandably attract attention, but conservation also happens on a much smaller scale.
Sometimes it has wings.
Sometimes it has eight legs.
Sometimes it is crawling through the soil where hardly anyone notices it.
One Exhibit Was Closed During Our Visit
Water's Edge was not open. Butterfly Pavilion began construction on that exhibit on August 17 and has announced that it will remain closed through September while work is underway.
That's worth knowing if you are planning a visit soon.
It also gives us something new to see another time.
As always, we recommend checking an attraction's current exhibit information before visiting, especially when traveling. Temporary construction, animal availability, weather, renovations, and special events can all affect what is available on a particular day.
Our Tulsa Zoo Membership Saved Us 50%
Here is where our visit came with an especially nice Zoos4You bonus.
We are Tulsa Zoo members.
Because Tulsa Zoo and Butterfly Pavilion both participate in the AZA Reciprocal Admissions Program, our Tulsa Zoo membership gave us 50% off our admission to Butterfly Pavilion.
And yes—we checked this one carefully.
The current AZA reciprocity chart lists Tulsa Zoo at 50% reciprocity and Butterfly Pavilion at 50% reciprocity. Under the AZA program, that combination provides a 50% admission discount.
That is one of those zoo-membership benefits that can easily be forgotten until you travel.
If your family already belongs to an AZA zoo or aquarium, your membership may have value far beyond your hometown.
Zoos4You Travel Tip
Before purchasing admission to another zoo, aquarium, or participating wildlife facility while traveling, check the current AZA reciprocal admissions list first.
You may already qualify for a discount.
AZA does caution visitors that individual institutions determine their own policies, family-member limits may vary, and some special exhibits or events may not be included. They recommend confirming reciprocity with the facility before visiting and bringing proof of your home membership.
In our case, remembering our Tulsa Zoo membership paid off with half-price admission in Colorado.
That's a pretty good return for something we were already carrying with us.
Is Butterfly Pavilion Worth Visiting?
For us, absolutley yes!
Butterfly Pavilion isn't trying to recreate the experience of a large traditional zoo, and that is precisely what makes it interesting.
You aren't going there for elephants or giraffes.
You are going there to discover how much there is to see when you start paying attention to the smaller members of the animal kingdom.
It works for families, zoo enthusiasts, nature lovers, photographers, and anyone interested in experiencing something different from the usual zoo visit.
It is also easy to incorporate into a Denver-area trip. Butterfly Pavilion is located at 6252 W. 104th Avenue in Westminster, northwest of Denver. It is currently open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the last admission at 4:15 p.m.; visitors should check current information before going because schedules can change.
Our Zoos4You Takeaway
We went to Butterfly Pavilion expecting butterflies.
We came away impressed by how interesting an entire facility devoted largely to invertebrates could be.
That's what made this visit memorable.
Zoos have a remarkable ability to introduce us to animals we might never encounter otherwise. But places like Butterfly Pavilion do something slightly different: they make us notice animals we may have been walking past our entire lives.
The butterfly in the garden.
The spider in the corner.
The beetle beneath a log.
Tiny animals performing enormous jobs.
Our visit was another reminder that you don't need the largest animal in the zoo to create a memorable wildlife experience.
Sometimes you just need to look a little closer.
And getting 50% off admission with our Tulsa Zoo membership?
That made an already amazing visit even better.
Zoos4You — Explore More. Roar More. Smile More.
