Fly Over Country
Friday Adventures are back! With the start of summer, my friend Rebecca and I are once again schlepping our kiddos around town in an effort to show them how cool Cincinnati truly is. For our first week, we decided on a tried-and-true favorite: the annual butterfly exhibit at the Krohn Conservatory.
“Destination Monarch”
Krohn Conservatory, 1501 Eden Park Drive
Hours: Monday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m.
Through August 9
Adults:$12, children ages 5-17: $8, and under 5 are free.
More at www.cincinnati-oh.gov/cincyparks/visit-a-park/find-a-parkfacility/krohn-conservatory.
This year the theme is “Destination Monarch,” which showcases the migration of the iconic insects across the United States and into the Oyamel Fir Forests of Mexico for the winter. The back of the exhibition features fir trees with hundreds of artificial monarch butterflies fluttering in a gentle breeze. If you’re lucky, you might even spot a few live ones floating around with their friends.
Our little group consisted of Rebecca, her two daughters, Maeve (almost 4) and Isla (1) and myself with my two girls Rose (2.5) and Ruby (1.) We signed up for the 10 a.m. slot and unlike last year, we actually arrived early! It seemed like everyone had the idea to go as soon as the Krohn opened because there was a massive line to get in and the exhibition hall was pretty crowded once inside.
Still, the girls enjoyed wandering around, watching the butterflies zoom by and trying to get them to crawl onto their little landing pad cards. Once a butterfly landed on Maeve’s pigtail, Rosie decided she was afraid of them and only grew brave when Maeve took her hand and led her around. Overall, we probably spent about 30 minutes watching the butterflies before having a final, random dance party in the middle of the room and then moving on.
No trip to the Krohn is complete without meandering through the rest of the rooms so we did just that. The girls made wishes in the fountain near the Desert House (thanks to Rebecca having some coins with her) and then walked through the spiky cacti, cautioning one another not to touch them. We stopped for a quick Icee break and then swung around to the main hall where the girls once again spent 15 to 20 minutes running through the tunnel by the waterfall, squealing with delight when they saw us on the other side. We made a quick loop through the Palm House and by then, the girls were hungry and ready to go. Exhausted, a little sticky from the Icees, and completely happy, we called our first Family Friday adventure of the summer a resounding success.
The best part about “Destination Monarch” for us toddler moms is that the under-5 crowd gets in totally free! Just a quick heads-up: I highly recommend grabbing your timed entry tickets online before you go. They cap the number of people allowed in the butterfly room each hour to keep the insects safe (and the crowds manageable!), so time slots can sell out fast, especially on weekends. Happy exploring!
– Shae Huth