Butterfly exhibit adds new features and events for 30th year

ArtNonprofit

Feb 21

Photo courtesy of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

The Fred & Dorothy Fichter Butterflies Are Blooming exhibition is set to return to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park March 1 through April 30. Now in its 30th year, the event is the largest temporary tropical butterfly exhibition in the United States, showcasing more than 60 butterfly and moth species from Africa, Asia, and Central, and South America.

New for 2025, visitors can enjoy features and events, including Butterfly Exploration Stations on March 2, After the Caterpillar—Cool Chrysalids and Cocoons with Dr. Duke Elsner (MSU Extension) on March 23, and Design for Delight: Butterfly Gardens (CGIP CEU) with Amy Heilman (The Living Garden) on April 27. The exhibit will also include new butterfly chairs for photos, murals, and enhanced lighting along the tree forms in the BISSELL Corridor leading into the Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory.

"Butterflies at Meijer Gardens have always been a cherished part of spring in West Michigan, and this year’s 30th annual Fred & Dorothy Fichter Butterflies Are Blooming exhibition promises to be more engaging than ever,” said Steve LaWarre, Senior Vice President at Meijer Gardens. “This year we are expanding butterfly-themed elements beyond the Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory, creating opportunities for discovery both inside and out. We are thrilled to celebrate three decades of connecting our guests with the wonder and beauty of tropical butterflies in exciting new ways."

In addition to showcasing the butterflies' aerial ballet, the exhibition offers guests unique, up-close experiences at feeding stations with nectar plants and at the Observation Station, where thousands of chrysalides and cocoons emerge and reveal the magic of metamorphosis. Approximately 1,000 chrysalides are delivered to Meijer Gardens each week of the exhibition.

Fred & Dorothy Fichter Butterflies Are Blooming is made possible by Fred and Dorothy Fichter and family; Howard Miller Company; The Meijer Foundation; Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Foundation; Botanic and Sculpture Societies of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, and Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Media sponsors are Star 105.7 FM, WOOD-TV8 and Blue Lake Public Radio.

For more information and a list of exhibition activities and special events, visit https://www.meijergardens.org/butterflies-are-blooming/.