Summer With The Butterflies

It's the end of summer vacation and if you are lucky, you've had wonderful summer adventures that have left you with amazing memories of trips, laughter, enjoyable family moments and more.  I was fortunate to have had a really busy and fun summer spent with family and friends.  Just hanging out with everyone, talking, laughing and reminiscing about our childhoods are some of the new memories that we were able to make together.   Sometimes it can be tough to figure out what activities will be enjoyable for the whole group.  With different age ranges and different preferences, it is often difficult to find locations or events that will be fun for everyone. We had a 4 month old baby, grandparents, and just about everything in between! Going to the movies, beach trips, and amusement parks are definitely some fun things to do when family gets together.  And of course, our libraries offer tons of programs for all ages that are enjoyable, educational and FREE!

When several of my family members arrived from out of state, we took fun day trips to New York City and Philadelphia but it was difficult with really young kids and got to be quite expensive.  I was looking for something more close to home, fun, and educational to boot--extra points given for an experience that is unusual and local to New Jersey. So where did I end up taking everyone?  It is close by, something new and different, fun for all ages, and most importantly....FREE!  I took my entire family to a place called the Watershed Institute in Pennington, New Jersey.  I first heard about it at a town fair a few years ago.  The Kate Gorrie Butterfly House was actually what interested me in the first place.  I wanted to see live butterflies flying around me and just enjoy experiencing their beauty and exquisiteness.  That was my motivation to go, but there are actually other activities offered by the amazing staff as well. They have a learning center with fish, frogs, turtles, and snakes that you can look at and learn about.  It is very kid friendly and the staff is very pleasant and loves to talk to the visitors about New Jersey environment, water conservation and more.

We were very fortunate to have visited at a time when three butterflies had just come out of their chrysalises.  They were in a mesh cage and being taken to the Butterfly House to be released.  One of the staff members actually took the time to release all three butterflies with our group in tow.  She explained how two were male and one was female.  The distinguishing characteristic of the male Monarch butterfly is the black dot that is prominently displayed on the back of each of its wings.  She then very gently took them on her finger from the mesh cage to the flowers and delicately placed each butterfly on a leaf.  There were lots of other butterflies flying around all the flowers and all around us.  It was something unique that the kids and adults got to experience and we were able to get some beautiful pictures as well.

I strongly recommend visiting the Kate Gorrie Butterfly House during butterfly season.  They have events like Butterfly Festivals, Butterfly Tea Parties, and Butterfly House Tours.  More information about the Watershed Institute and the Kate Gorrie Butterfly House in Pennington, New Jersey, including events and hours of operation, can be found on their website.

To learn more about butterflies, look no further than your local library!  Here are some great books to familiarize yourself with these exquisite creatures:

 



Butterflies of New Jersey:  a Guide to their Status, Distribution, Conservation and Appreciation by Michael Gochfeld and Joanna Burger

Butterflies and Moths by John Feltwell

Butterflies:  Exploring the Life Cycle by Shirley Raines

- Kaneeze, Hightstown Branch