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Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Monarch butterfly sitting on a pink flower.
Currently Closed: Check Back for Reopening Date

Butterfly Pavilion

Permanent
Location map
A yellow moth specimen.

The Butterfly Pavilion Is Temporarily Closed

No opening date is available at this time.
Did you know?

There are about 300 butterflies in the Pavilion.

A Tropical Oasis

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Stroll among butterflies & beautiful blooming plants in this tropical oasis. Butterflies fly freely around the Pavilion, landing on plants and sometimes people.

The Butterfly Pavilion is a brightly lit climate-controlled environment kept at 80 degrees Fahrenheit and 80 percent humidity, making it the ideal home for hundreds of butterflies.

Tickets can be purchased online or in person. All tickets are for a specific entry time beginning at 10:15 a.m. & ending at 5:00 p.m. Get ticket information (PDF).

The Butterfly Pavilion is wheelchair accessible.

A blue and black Blue Morpho butterfly and two red, orange, and black monarch butterflies

Butterflies that May Flutter by You

Morpho polyphemus, a pale yellow butterfly with yellow and black eye spots on its wings
White Morpho (Morpho polyphemus)
Catonephele mexicana, a black butterfly with a yellow stripe on its wings, male
Mexican Shoemaker (Catonephele mexicana)
Heliconius melpomene, a black, orange, and white butterfly sitting on a green leaf
Postman Butterfly (Heliconius melpomene)
Papilio ophidicephalus - a black and yellow butterfly on a pink flower
Emperor Swallowtail (Papilio ophidicephalus)
Colobura dirce, a pale yellow and black butterfly with its wings closed
Zebra Mosaic (Colobura dirce)
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Did you know?

The Pavilion showcases butterflies from the U.S., Mexico, Central & South America, Africa, India, China, and Southeast Asia.

Identification Guide

Get a one-page identification guide to the eight butterflies commonly found in the Pavilion.

Pictures of tops and bottoms of eight butterflies commonly found in the Butterfly Pavilion.

Experience More

Wolf spider
SECOND FLOOR | EXHIBIT
O. Orkin Insect Zoo
Students examine Museum collection objects as part of a Q?rius school program. Photo by Jennifer Renteria, Smithsonian.
Currently Closed: Check Back for Reopening Date
Q?rius, The Coralyn W. Whitney Science Education Center