Guided Tour: Butterflies Go Free at Montreal Botanical Gardens 2012

Butterflies Go Free runs from Feb. 16 to April 29, 2012 at the Montreal Botanical Gardens.

For a brief break from the winter blahs, head to Butterflies Go Free, starting Feb. 16 at the Montreal Botanical Garden. It’s a tropical oasis that’s worth a visit, even if the visit typically lasts under an hour with young kids.

The Botanical Garden’s main greenhouse is heated up to 29 degrees, filled with tropical plants and flowers, and incredibly colourful butterflies from countries including Costa Rica, Indonesia and Ecuador. Some have wing spans that are close to the size of your hand, showing flashes of electric blue or green as they flutter by. It’s magic to watch them glide into the nearest hibiscus for a snack, then take off again.

Welcome to the jungle

The greenhouse circuit doesn’t take long to walk, so take off your coat and go slowly. You may not have a choice – it can get very crowded in there. On the lower level, there are child-friendly presentations about the life cycle of a butterfly – our five-year-old was definitely listening and learning on our last visit (the 2.5-year-old, not so much).

Children age four and up will definitely get more out of the experience than younger children; on a visit when our first son was two, he wasn’t interested for more than five minutes. At five, he had fun spotting the various species among the leaves, and borrowed the camera to snap lots of pictures himself.

We spent about 20 minutes with the butterflies, then went to explore the rest of the greenhouses. As lovely as the flowers and plants are to adults, they don’t hold kids’ interest. Ours did have fun chasing each other through a tunnel in the orchid area. I don’t think that’s what the Botanical Garden staff has in mind, though, so we kaiboshed it (before security came along).

Included in the admission price is a visit to the Insectarium, which was being renovated this time last year. If you haven’t checked out its new We are the Insects exhibit, you can make the 5 to 10 minute walk from the Botanical Gardens’ greenhouse to the Insectarium.

Game plan

• If you’re visiting Butterflies Go Free with a child age 2 and under, they may not be interested for long, and it may not be worth paying around $40 to visit (admission plus parking). Your call.
• Since the visit will be short, consider going in the late-morning and tying it in with lunch at the Botanical Garden restaurant. The kids will also enjoy the Botanical Garden gift shop, which has some great toys and games; yes, they will ask you to buy them something.
• Let kids know that the butterflies may land on them (especially if they’re wearing red), but not to touch the butterflies.
• Older kids may enjoy bringing a magnifying glass or binoculars with them, or getting to borrow the camera for a while.
• Bring a stroller for kids age two and under (you can also rent one there).

Have you taken the kids to Butterflies Go Free? How did it go?

Butterflies Go Free
Schedule: Feb. 16 to April 29, 2012, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday (open Monday, Feb. 27 and March 5 and April 9).
Location: Montreal Botanical Garden, 4101 Sherbrooke St. E. (Pie-X metro)
Cost: Adults $15, age 5 to 17, $7.50, family $42.
Parking: $5 for first hour, $10 per day.
Telephone: 514-872-1400

Video courtesy of BalconygardenerTV.

Main image courtesy of alainpicard.us.