The butterfly wing is reopening at Milwaukee Public Museum; here’s what you should know
The butterflies are back. Starting Thursday, the Milwaukee Public Museum is reopening its popular Puelicher Butterfly Wing, which has been closed since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The butterfly wing includes both the Bugs Alive! exhibit and the walkthrough two-story vivarium, where butterflies fly freely throughout an environment of trees and flowers.
Other elements of the exhibit include a wall of diversity with more than 1,000 species of butterflies and moths and a working butterfly laboratory.
The museum also took advantage of the closure to update the experience by adding crawl-through elements for kids in a new Butterflies Alive interactive area.
“Throughout time and history, individuals representing cultures around the world have used images of butterflies for art, research, and to understand the world we live in,” said MPM president and CEO Ellen Censky in a news release. “From caterpillars to chrysalises to colorful winged insects, butterflies are a symbol of change — something we’ve all become familiar with in the past year. For MPM, reopening the Puelicher Butterfly Wing represents cultural connection and a positive next step.”
COVID-19 protocols are in place at the MPM, including required masks for guests 3 and older and a recommendation to purchase tickets in advance due to limited capacity. The museum also asks that guests maintain social distance of six feet between their group and others — which, they helpfully point out, is the equivalent of 18 swallowtail butterflies.
Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays, and tickets can be bought at mpm.edu or by calling 414-278-2728.
Contact Amy Schwabe at (262) 8759488 or amy.schwabe@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @WisFamilyJS, Instagram at @wisfamilyjs or Facebook at WisconsinFamily.