Surround yourself in our tropical and flowering gardens as various butterfly species flutter around you.

  • No Charge for children under 2 years old.
  • Children must be accompanied by a ticketed adult.
  • Butterfly Tent is NOT part of Zoo Membership.
  • The Tent is a one way path. Exits near Carousel.
  • Strollers are allowed, but please be mindful of the butterflies as they sometimes land on the ground!
  • Please do not touch or grab the butterflies. Their wings are very sensitive! Zoo staff will be happy to help you if you happen to get a butterfly traveler.
  • Wait for Zoo staff to let you in and out of the exhibit to safely view butterflies.

SEASONAL EXPERIENCE | Open Memorial Day weekend – Labor Day weekend

The Zoo constructs a 90-foot-long tent with 400 tropical and flowering plants and then let’s over 1,500 live butterflies flutter about. This rare experience introduces zoo visitors to the native and migratory species of our region including Monarchs, Swallowtails, Red Admirals, Mourning Cloaks, Fritillarys, Skippers, Baltimore Checkerspots, Hairstreaks, Red-spotted Purples, Painted Ladies, and more.  Learn about the metamorphosis of a butterfly firsthand as you explore the tent to find chrysalis’ in different stages of growth.

Our Butterfly Tent is a true partnership project, with our Maintenance team constructing the exhibit, our Horticulture team (along with Master Gardeners & Docents) planting and overseeing our butterflies, our Animal Care and Guest Relations teams facilitating the day-to-day visitor experience and fund raised contributing to our support organization and conservation partner the Zoological Society of New Jersey.

Our conservation efforts and support extend beyond this seasonal habitat and the zoo itself. Monarch butterflies, Danaus plexippus, are one of the most iconic butterflies in the world and they embark on one of the most complex migrations of any insect. Once common across North America, they are now experiencing steep declines due to habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change throughout the continent and were recently classified as Endangered. This makes widespread collaboration crucial for recovering and sustaining this species. In 2021, the Zoo joined the North American Monarch SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) Program through the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. North American Monarch SAFE is the only insect SAFE program which focuses on citizen science and public education of monarchs and their plight, habitat creation, restoration, and research. TBZ also began working with the Monarch Watch Tagging Program, a large-scale community science project that was initiated to help understand the dynamics of the monarch’s fall migration through mark and recapture data. Over the past three years, we’ve tagged more than 800 Monarch adults to support migratory tracking.