KIDSPACE 17TH ANNUAL GRAND BUTTERFLY RELEASE, APRIL 27 & 28

Over 1,000 Painted Lady Butterflies to be released during this Special Two-Day Event

PASADENA, CALIF.  (April 23, 2013) – Kidspace celebrates the life cycle of the Painted Lady Butterfly during its 17th Annual Grand Butterfly Release, on Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28. This long-standing tradition at the Museum will give Kidspace guests the opportunity to participate in the release of over 600 Painted Lady Butterflies per day from the Museum’s Stone Hollow Amphitheater. Guests are also invited to engage in various butterfly related arts and science activities before and after each day’s release, scheduled at 2:00 p.m., as well as enjoy a performance from one of Kidspace’s favorite musical artists, The Hollow Trees.

On Saturday, April 27, and Sunday, April 28, beginning at 10:00 a.m. each day, Kidspace guests can join the festivities and celebrate the life of the butterfly with interactive and engaging activities. Guests can create and decorate their own butterfly wings at Flutterby’s Art Center, create antennae in the Kidspace Gardens, learn about the anatomy of a butterfly, and how a butterfly eats at the “Eat Like a Butterfly” activity in the Harvest Corner, and for an additional fee, decorate their very own butterfly cookies in the Wisteria Courtyard. Kidspace guests are invited to bring the butterfly they adopted originally as a caterpillar, during Caterpillar Adoption Days, to release it with hundreds of others during the afternoon’s program.

At 1:30 p.m. each day, musical artists, The Hollow Trees, will take the stage in the Stone Hollow Amphitheater to begin the program that will culminate in the main event, the release of over 600 Painted Lady Butterflies into the Kidspace Gardens. Then, at 2:00 p.m., as the guests are reminded of the four life stages of the butterfly, large pavilions, containing the fully grown Painted Lady Butterflies, will line the amphitheater. On the word from the Kidspace Emcee, guests and staff will open their butterfly habitats and release the butterflies in a moment of wonder and beauty for all to behold.

After their release, butterflies will find their natural food source in the Museum’s gardens, which are filled with plants native to the surrounding Arroyo Seco. Parents and children are then able to explore the gardens on their own and observe these beautiful butterflies in a natural setting.

“Caterpillar adoption is an important lesson that will inspire children in many ways. Not only does a child have an opportunity to witness the amazing transformation of larvae into a butterfly and discover the science behind this process, it also contributes to a child’s curiosity of nature. For most little ones, this is their first exposure to having a pet, and who doesn’t have fond memories of their first caterpillar?” said Yvonne Chavez-Lombardi, Kidspace’s Director of Education.

The festivities will last until 5:00 p.m. each day. If families are still interested in releasing their own butterfly at the event, caterpillars will be available for adoption through the weekend of the Grand Butterfly Release, April 27 and 28, while supplies last.

About Kidspace:

Located on nearly three and a half acres in Pasadena, California, Kidspace Children’s Museum has more than 40 hands-on exhibits, in addition to its outdoor spaces, programs, and activities that are designed to encourage a child’s growth and development through exploration of the environment, investigation in science, and artistic expression. Kidspace is located at 480 N. Arroyo Blvd., in Brookside Park, Pasadena, California, adjacent to the Rose Bowl Stadium. Free parking is available in Rose Bowl Parking Lot I. Kidspace is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Kidspace is open seven days a week between Memorial and Labor Days). Admission for all adults and children one year and older is $10.00. Children under one year and members are free.

Kidspace Children's Museum is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that exists to enrich the lives of children. For more information about exhibits, events, and other activities, please visit: www.kidspacemuseum.org or on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/kidspacechildrensmuseum.