Sensational Butterflies at the Natural History Museum

Today (3^rd April) sees the opening of the new “Sensational Butterflies” Exhibition at the Natural History Museum.

Unlike the familiar halls of the Museum that hold only dead animals, this exhibition is filled with hundreds of live butterflies! I get a bit overexcited about butterfly houses, because one landing on you is always a possibility (what an exciting life I lead!).

With the sun finally out, this butterfly house has finished being built outside the Natural History Museum’s Central Hall and on the corner of Exhibition Road and Cromwell Road in South Kensington. To look at, the house doesn’t look like much:

But when you step inside, it miraculously doubles in size.

The house is filled with big colourful panels telling you about the lifecycle of a butterfly, which takes you on a tour as well if you follow them. If…..

I was way too distracted by the fluttering of about ten butterflies right past my head to notice them at first! There are about 50 different species. The whole house is filled with them even at this early stage, and unlike other butterfly houses, the majority of them are large:

Halfway along the little trail you get here:

This was the chrysalis shed, showing hundreds of them in usual style. The difference here however is that the volunteers regularly go into the shed and unleash newly hatched butterflies into the rest of the house. Equally, if they are struggling to get out of their cocoon, the scientists give them a little helping hand in front of you:

I was led to believe that butterflies hatched after hours of trying, but we met a lovely scientist/expert, who told us that in fact they hatch instantly.

Hintful tip: The top 'hatching time' is morning, but be quick! At the end of the day the most butterflies are released from the shed, so that they don’t stay in there overnight.

At various points there are congregating feeding stations, and the plants all around will be growing right up until September, so it’s likely to look very different!

Overall, it’s definitely worth a visit. The volunteers and experts that are in the house at various times make it a far more interesting experience than other butterfly houses, and you are very likely to learn more! The gift shop is great too, with butterfly related objects for kids and adults that are different from the rest of the Museum.

Sensational Butterflies runs from 3^rd April until 14^th September 2014. Tickets cost £5.50 for an adult, and entry is free for members.

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/temporary-exhibitions/sensational-butterflies/