Smarty Day Trip Series: All-A-Flutter Butterfly Farm

By Katie M

Voted best field trip of the year by many local schools and churches, this trip will encourage you to spread your wings of imagination! All-A-Flutter Butterfly Farm is located in High Point, NC, and it opens for the season on April 17. I went with my daughter and our playgroup a few years ago, and to this day she still talks about her experience.

The tour lasts approximately 40-45 minutes, which includes a 20 minute presentation on the lifespan of the Monarch butterfly (from egg to caterpillar to butterfly) along with a tour of the 20’ x 48’ flight house filled with live Monarch butterflies busy feeding, breeding and laying eggs. The children are able to observe butterflies up close and are encouraged to feed the butterflies by hand! Monarchs are very friendly – so be sure to wear bright clothing to encourage them to land on your shoulder!

After your tour, you won’t want to leave the scenic countryside that surrounds this farm, so pack a lunch! Picnic tables are available along with plenty of room to spread out a blanket for an old-fashioned picnic. A misting tent is also available for the warmer summer months.

Below are some more Smarty Tips I found on their web site:

The farm suggests that you teach your children the importance of composting before your visit, and any compost-able materials from their lunch sacks should be deposited in our compost garden. Any fruit or vegetable peels and cores will be the items they will most likely have.

If your group is over 30 people, the farm will have to stagger the visits into the flight house. They suggest breaking groups into classes – giving each class at least 15 minutes in the flight house. Some groups stagger eating times for each class, which seems to work well.

The farm does not have a gift shop, but they do sell life cycle kits for $10 each (includes the habitat, a monarch caterpillar, and a milkweed plant to grow the caterpillar into a full grown butterfly.) The kit comes with complete instructions. If any children wish to purchase the kits, they will need to know the number a day in advance of your visit.

If on the day of your scheduled visit, it is raining at 8 a.m., please call the farm to reschedule your tour. The flight house is not covered, and the experience in the wet rain is not as fun for the children.

Port-a-potties, hand sanitizers and are also available, and the flight house is handicap-accessible.

Adults are $6 each, children are $5 each. The farm requests a two-week advance notice for large group tours. The season began in April and lasts through October 15. Teachers and bus drivers are free. If you pay with cash, please have exact change on hand, as most of their business is done with checks. If you need a receipt, they will take your information and email or mail your receipt at the end of the day.

The farm also offers birthday party packages, and family days near the end of the season. More information, including directions, can be found on the farm’s web site at www.all-a-flutter.com or by calling (336) 454-5651.

We encourage you to add this trip to your spring and summer schedule. If you go – or have been – please add your thoughts below! And as always, be sure to tell them Triad Smarty Pants sent you!

Posted by Triad Smarty Pants at 5:00 AM