BRIT and the Fort Worth Botanic Garden Announce the Opening of "Butterflies in the Garden, the Mayan Experience"
Fort Worth, TX (PRWEB) February 15, 2016 -- The Fort Worth Botanic Garden, the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT®), the Fort Worth Garden Club, the Fort Worth Botanical Society, and WFAA, Channel 8, are pleased to announce the opening of “Butterflies in the Garden, The Mayan Experience,” the largest exhibit of live, exotic butterflies in north central Texas on Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in the conservatory of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, 3220 Botanic Garden Boulevard.
During the five-week exhibit, from March 1 through April 3, 2016, approximately 10,000, beautiful, exotic butterflies of every hue and size will be released in the conservatory. People will have a chance to walk among hundreds of fluttering butterflies from around the world, watch them land on tropical flowers and lush foliage — maybe even on their finger! — and learn about the amazing life cycle of the butterfly. Both the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and BRIT will offer programs and exhibits during the exhibit days to enhance attendees’ learning experience.
The theme for the 2016 exhibit is “The Mayan Experience” and features Central American butterflies such as the Starry Night Butterfly (Hamadryas Iaodamia), the Mosaic (Colobura dirce), the elegant Glass Wing (Greta oto), Small Postman (Heliconius erato), Pink-Spotted Cattleheart (Parides photinus), the green Malachite (Siproeta stelenes), Tiger Longwing (Heliconius hecale), and Blue Morpho (Morpho peleides). Of these, the Blue Morpho is the most striking and a perennial favorite among visitors. Also included in the exhibit will be butterflies from North and South America as well as Africa and Asia.
In 2014, organizers of the exhibit created a “Butterflies in the Garden” art competition for students from area schools. This year’s winner, Luis Hernandez, a student at South Hills High School, submitted his interpretation of this year’s “The Mayan Experience” theme showing a Mayan-like symbol with a butterfly in its center. The design will appear as the main graphic on banners and other exhibit communications. The art competition has become an integral part of the biennial butterfly exhibit at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.
“The 2016 Butterflies in the Garden theme, ‘The Mayan Experience,’ has captured the imagination of the metroplex,” says Bob Byers, director of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. “We are expecting a great turnout this year.”
“WFAA is proud to be a part of this highly-anticipated, biennial exhibition of butterflies,” said Stephanie Wilcox, Director of Community Marketing. “We encourage our viewers from Fort Worth, Dallas, and surrounding communities to attend this spectacular event.”
The exhibit runs from Tuesday, March 1, 2016, through Sunday, April 3, 2016. It is open daily, including Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tickets for timed entrance may be purchased in advance online at BITG tickets. Admission is $10 for ages 13-64; $8 for seniors (65+); $6 for ages 3-12; and free for children under three. School groups of 20 or more may purchase tickets in advance for $5 per person.
For more information, call the Garden at 817-392-5510 or visit http://www.bitg16.org, the Garden's website at http://www.fwbg.org, or BRIT's website at http://www.brit.org.
Butterflies in the Garden exhibit is located in the Fort Worth Botanic Garden Conservatory,
3220 Botanic Garden Boulevard (off University Drive), Fort Worth, TX 76107
Chris Chilton, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, http://www.brit.org, +1 817-546-8691, [email protected]
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