Audubon Insectarium

It was a rainy day in New Orleans, so we decided to go to the aquarium. We found out that there is more. The Insectarium is connected, you can buy tickets for each one or a package for both.It was recommended to us, to first visit the Insectarium. There were a lot of very interesting insects. Walking sticks (some really hugh, like 6 inches), ant colonies, and the butterfly room. That is really special. You walk in through a double door area to prevent the butterflies to escape. After that it is amazing. Butterflies in all colors and sizes flying around. Another double door (please check if no butterfly landed on you for a walk out) and on to the aquarium.When in New Orleans and it rains (which happens a lot, according to our tour guide), this is a wonderful destination.

Are the tickets a bit pricy? Sure. But this was a great way to spend the day with kids. Ours were 8 and 10, and were very happy wandering around the Insectarium and checking everything out. They were too chicken to try the cricket chocolate chip cookies, but then again... so was I! (My wife tried one and said it tasted pretty much normal!) I liked the butterfly exhibit, but my 8yo got freaked out by it, so I appreciated that there was a way to bypass it if you didn't want to go through.I don't really get why the Insectarium and the Aquarium are listed as different places, as you literally can't buy separate tickets. Both are great. This would be a perfect rainy day activity. That said, it does get crowded.

Would you rather see a white Alligator or butterflies?Insectarium overshadowed by the Audubon Aquarium. There are at least 22 Insectariums in North America, but only a handful of aquariums with a white alligator.Wife is crazy for butterflies, and we see them at the Monterey, CA butterfly sancturary. Came over directly from the adjoining Aquarium, which has a separate admission, and headed straight to the indoor butterfly collection. Place has double doors to prevent butterflies from escaping.Beautiful indoor display overlooking the Mississippi river, with butterflies stationary, eating, and flying around. A couple of butterflies with damaged wings, dying on the ground, more than likely by kids handling them. We spent a good hour watching them, on a weekday morning with school in session, and only few preschoolers around. Before we leave, we have to make sure there are no butterflies still hanging onto our clothes and hats.Wife is big into butterflies, but I told her there's no need to pay to see the Insectarium, when we can see cockroaches in the local hotel for free!

This was an inhumane display of insects and marine life. No type of enrichment is provided for the marine life. It really was a sad experience, especially dead insects.

Came here for the first time with my family. Based on some photos that was online, I didn't want to go because it looked like a place for toddlers. My kids are grown so we decided to do just the aquarium only to find out that the admissions covered both the aquarium and the insectarium. I'm glad it did because the family and I all enjoyed both exhibits. There were some cool and gross critters lol. Definitely cool to experience and read about. There was also a beautiful butterfly exhibit. There are gift shops and also an area that gives out free crickets to eat lol. Our hotel was nearby so we walked. There is a paid parking lot nearby. There are a few homeless people outside so just be careful. All the staff were very friendly.

Bugs, spiders and butterflies, oh my!One price gets you admission to the aquarium and the insectarium. Wear light blue in the butterfly room. They will come land on you.

There are some fascinating "bugs" here, and you can actually stop in the "bugateria" and eat one or two. Grasshoppers and some worms are deep fried or made into hummus. I was not that brave/adventurous.

Amazing. Lots of great information, learned a lot. Very clean. Insects were very active. Great amount of insects, activities, explore zones and educational. Def worth coming to, probably the better part of the aquarium.

Great way to spend part of the day when you aren't huge into the typical New Orleans things.

I visited on Sunday, March 17th. WOW WOW WOW! Definitely a state-of-the-art adult and child approved interactive museum. As someone who is covered in insect tattoos, I am a bit biased but still, it was incredible. There are many features that are for children, however, there was plenty to see, feel, read and taste as an adult. As an adult who steers clear of children, I appreciated the added playground-esq interactive toys for children which acted as deploys so that we could hear the small lectures at the bug camp and the butterfly garden exhibition. Perfect location for the deploys, in my opinion. At the insectarium you will learn about the insects that you encounter every day to the ones in other countries that you can only dream about touching or seeing from being in movies or pictures. At the "Bug Appétit Cafe" you can taste edible insect cuisine--flavored crickets, candy covered mealworms, roasted waxworms and even desserts (cicada muffins or chocolate chip cricket cookies) with insects or insect protein powders. The Butterfly Garden was truly impressive. It even looks over the Mississippi River which is the perfect backdrop when exploring the Butterfly Garden. You could easily see 100+ butterflies drinking nectar, taking naps, or simply majestically soaring around.My only complaints are with the Butterfly Garden. (1) Entrance logistics need to be worked out. There needs to be a staff member on the outside of the entrance so that it doesn't keep opening every EFFING minute when we are trying to open the main door. So annoying. No lie, it took us over ten minutes to get through due to the amount of people who stepped closed to the entrance door to the waiting room. (2) There needs to be 2+ employees inside the butterfly garden since the children were grabbing, poking and touching the butterflies--I am assuming this is why many were damaged. Maybe having an info graphic poster on the negative aspects of touching the butterflies should be posted beforehand and throughout. Also, having a staff member that isn't afraid to speak up and toss a kid out would be apricated. Though I wanted to trip or smack the kids running and touching everything, it was still amazing (I did hiss at a few which made them focus on the crazy lady inside the butterfly enclosure instead of the butterflies--whatever works, ya know?). (3) There should be a limit of how many people can gain access to the butterfly room--there was NO ROOM to move. We were all on top of each other. I highly recommend the Audubon Insectarium. It truly is a must see when in the area. It is located at the Audubon Aquarium and NOT AT THE ZOO.