We visited Branson’s The Butterfly Palace & Rainforest Adventure on the last day of our recent visit to *Branson, Missouri. Visitors enter through a gift shop where butterfly and rainforest themed souvenirs abound.
The Living Rainforest Science Center invites visitors to learn about rainforest inhabitants like poison dart frogs, salamanders, geckos, skinks, chameleons, and even giant cockroaches. Specimens may be viewed through the light microscope display and there is a virtual dissection kiosk as well.
The attraction boasts a walk through rainforest exhibits in the Emerald Forest Mirror Maze and the Banyan Tree Adventure. These exhibits bring the rainforest experience to life for visitors as they realize that a walk through the rainforest is not for the faint of heart as it tests even the best explorer navigational skills.
The real magic of this attraction is experienced in the butterfly aviary on the uppermost level of the facility. Accessible by ramps, to enter the butterfly aviary you enter through a “clean” room where you are asked to leave bags and jackets. When you exit through this clean room, you will be checked by a staff member to make sure you don’t have any butterflies who have hitched a ride in your clothes unbeknownst to you.
Once you enter the aviary visitors are greeted by a warm, lush, green space full of trees and flowers which serve as the butterfly habitat. Our stroll through the winding paths of this tropical environment was filled with exotic butterflies imported under the strict USDA guidelines from all over the world. The Butterfly Palace imports its butterflies from farms run by local families. These butterfly farms provide a sustainable alternative to logging and other economic practices that can be detrimental to rainforests. Many of these farms have extensive research and education programs that allow people to travel from all over the world for education and study. Proceeds from the Butterfly Palace’s visitors help the Palace to purchase more pupae from these farms which helps them to remain viable operations which in turn helps to save their rainforests.
We were greeted with a small tube of nectar topped by a red artificial flower which we were told would help attract the butterflies to us. Protip: Wear bright colors, like poppy red, to attract butterflies to you as you explore this beautiful space.
The Butterfly Palace is the perfect spot to get those once in a lifetime photographs, so be sure to bring a camera. We were lucky enough to “catch” several photos of some of the more rare butterflies.
Be sure to check out our gallery below for some of our favorite shots from our visit. We also have a brief video of our experience at the aviary with the nectar provided by the Palace.
We hope you will plan to include the Butterfly Palace in your itinerary for your next visit to Branson, MO (let them know we sent you!)
You won’t regret taking the time for this magical experience with some of nature’s most beautiful creatures.
*Disclosure statement: Our visit to Branson, MO was made at the invitation of the Branson, MO Visitors Bureau as part of a familiarization trip. Our accommodations, admission tickets, and meals were complimentary in return for sharing our experience with our readers. The views and opinions expressed are purely our own. Any product claim, statistic, quote, or other representation about a destination, attraction, venue, or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider, or party in question.
