Marshall Butterfly Pavilion

Honestly, I wish it was bigger! Every time we come to the Botanic Gardens, I have to go see the butterflies, and they NEVER disappoint!The pavilion is a small tent like structure filled with blooming plants and tons of different kinds of butterflies native to Arizona. They walking path goes in a loop, but has a offshoot leading to the exit. You can spend as much time inside as you want; the only rule is that you can't touch the butterflies. Luckily, THEY usually end up touching ME! ;) At one end is a small aquarium type display showing the lifecycle of a butterfly, and there are actual caterpillars and chrysalises of the different species to look at. If you're lucky, you may even get to see a butterfly emerge!There are feeding stations stashed among the plants throughout the pavilion, along with a small pond full of goldfish.The best part is, it is not oppressively humid like in most other butterfly exhibits. This one is just like a tent with airflow to and from the outside.As you leave, there is a person that checks to make sure you are butterfly free before you exit.Entry is included with admission to the garden, so get out of the hot Arizona sun for a few minutes, and admire the beauty inside!51/2023

So much fun! The staff is wonderful. We all enjoyed it- kids age 14 and 17, parents in our 40s, grandparents in their 60s.

If you like butterflies, this is the place for you. It does get crowded, so don't expect to breeze through here quickly. Odds are that you want to take your time, look for butterflies and maybe even take a few pictures. The butterflies pretty much do what they want and may be hiding on the ground, on the wall, under leaves, etc., but they place cut fruit on colorful tables to encourage some of them to hang out where they can be observed even more easily. There are so many, though, that finding them is not a problem. The volunteers are helpful, friendly, and willing to answer questions. The building is basically a loop, but I think they could improve the overall flow by putting up "this way" signs to alleviate the "swimming upstream" feeling.

The Marshall Butterfly Pavilion is just off the Red Trail at the Desert Botanical Gardens. It's not a very large exhibit, but it is very colorful and lively. Admission to the Pavilion is extra - 3.50 to be exact....and the exhibit is "outdoors" and shaped sort of like a hanger. It is also not unidirectional flow...despite there being just one entrance and one exit. But I was able to get some great shots of the butterflies. They aren't very social (in that they don't really land on you) but its okay, for the most part, they are very photogenic.

Recently in October I surprised my two little girls by taking them to the Marshall Butterfly Pavilion; it's an exhibit in the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix near the Phoenix Zoo. Butterflies in the Pavilion change with the seasons, in-between September thru November the Monarch Butterflies are in. So we all finally made it to the Botanical Garden for the first time. We got there at 8:00 AM right when it opens, cost is $15 for adults and $5 for kids to get in the Desert Botanical Garden, but lucky for me I had visited my local public library and got myself a culture pass with four free admissions. So I just needed to pay $3 each to also enter the Marshall Butterfly Pavilion. Before you enter the Butterfly Pavilion your greeted by a friendly host they give you a couple of rules, don't touch the butterflies, look down to make sure you don't step on any, and make sure you don't have any on you when you exit. The Pavilion is a large sun-screened enclosure roughly 40 feet by 80 feet, full of green garden habitat, a variety of trees, brush, and a man made pond, everything to keep the Monarch Butterflies comfortable. Once your in there it's amazing there are hundreds of butterflies just every were around you and all over you.My girls loved it as for me it was a great photo moment not only could you get a photo inches away from the butterflies, but they also made a perfect picture background. I found the large culture of people in there were photographers some with three different cameras capturing up and close photos of the Monarch Butterfly. I could only imagine with the butterfly's bright orange and black colors against the green surroundings, it had to make some awesome pics. If you get in the Butterfly Pavilion early enough you can spend a lot of time in there since they only allow a certain amount of people in there at once so it doesn't get too crowded. I would recommend The Marshall Butterfly Pavilion to anybody; it's just a great addition to the Desert Botanical Gardens.