Housed in a Victorian-era conservatory built in the early 1900s, the butterfly conservatory allows students, faculty and those in the community an opportunity to see butterflies and plants in both a tropical and desert settings, Ralph Charlton, associate professor of entomology, said. People can immerse themselves in the experience and watch as butterflies pass freely anywhere in the infrastructure. Charlton said the conservatory, which is a joint project with the Department of Horticultural, Forestry and Recreation Resources, was built to be an education outreach for the campus and the community. He said butterflies are popular, and a number of facilities have been built throughout the United States as places to visit and study butterflies. It is all about an idea of being transported into a different world and seeing these beautiful insects.
People are very intrigued by that.
Charlton said in the two months the conservatory was opened last fall, at least 3,000 people came to visit. He said many were school groups, but there were also many students and community members that came to enjoy the atmosphere. The conservatory reopened March 1 after being closed for a few months for maintenance. It has an aesthetic benefit, and especially in the middle of winter, it is nice to have a place to visit with lush life when it is so bleak outside. Ramaswamy said another benefit to the conservatory is the environmental protection and preservation it offers to insects in the building.