The Becker County Museum is preparing to open its newest featured exhibition, Butterfly Odyssey: Saving Rainforests, One Flap at a Time, which will run from October 4, 2025, through April 4, 2026.
The immersive exhibit highlights the importance of rainforests—vital ecosystems that produce nearly one-quarter of the world’s oxygen, provide everyday products like bananas, coffee, and chocolate, and serve as home to almost half of Earth’s animal species. Visitors will learn how sustainable practices, including butterfly farming, can help protect both people and the planet.
Museum Executive Director Becky Mitchell says the new exhibit offers a one-of-a-kind way to step into the world of butterflies. “It’s another maze-based exhibit, so you’re going to kind of go through and there are a few choices as you go along, but you are basically going to learn about the life cycle of a butterfly in a way you’ve never learned before—so you’re going to be crawling and climbing and weaving and flying and learning all about butterflies,” Mitchell explained.
The hands-on experience transforms visitors into rainforest butterflies, challenging them to beat the odds of survival, undergo metamorphosis, and even race to deliver farm-raised chrysalids before they take flight. Along the way, guests will also discover other sustainable rainforest practices, from fair-trade crafts to farmer-owned coffee cooperatives.
Mitchell noted that the lessons go beyond butterflies themselves. “Just like these butterflies are pollinators, and so as pollinators are dwindling on our planet, there are so many efforts to try to help these young winged insects survive so that they can help us survive—and keep our planet growing, so to speak.”
Through interactive play and discovery, Butterfly Odyssey underscores how sustainable solutions like butterfly farming protect rainforests, support local communities, and preserve biodiversity for future generations.
The Becker County Museum encourages families, students, and community members to experience the exhibit and see how everyday choices can make a global difference.