Pavilion of Wings | Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
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Our volunteers help prepare and excavate fossils in the Fishbowl Lab at the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar PIts.
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Prepare for Landing!
The butterflies come back in April, 2010
The Pavilion of Wings is a beautifully landscaped seasonal exhibit located on the Museum's South Lawn. Over the summer, more than 40 different butterfly and moth species call the pavilion home. Here is your chance to wander into their world and better understand the envirnoment that is needed for ther survival.
A world of interactions
Butterflies and moths are the result of millions of years of of interactions with the plants and animals around them. Watch the butterflies as they obtain nectar from flowers with their specialized tubular mouthparts or follow a mated female to a host plant and watch her deposit an egg from which a young caterpillar will hatch. Many of our plants are hosts for various caterpillars that you will notice feeding on the leaves.
Where do we get our butterflies from?
Although some of our butterflies mate and lay eggs in the exhibit, we obtain additional butterflies from various "farms" from across the United States to keep the pavilion well stocked. Over half of the species we exhibit are native to California (such as the monarch, mourning cloak and Caifornia dogface), but others are more exotic in nature (such as the malachite, small postman and julia). Be sure to visit us throughout the summer because the species that inhabit the exhibit at any one time will vary.
Coming to the Pavilion
The Pavilion of Wings is located just outside the main Museum building on our South Lawn and special ticketed admission applies. Tickets are sold in half hour intervals throughout the day at a rate of $3 for adults, $2 for students and seniors, and $1 for children. Museum Members are free of charge. Tickets can be purchased at any Museum admissions desk or at the Pavilion of Wings itself. The Pavilion is open each day from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, with the last tickets sold at 4:30 pm.
For a limited time only!
The Pavilion of Wings is a seasonal exhibit that opens each year in mid-April and closes on Labor Day in September. Be sure to check the top right hand corner of this web page for the dates that we are open for this year.
We look forward to seeing you over the summer!