The Butterfly House in Whitehouse, Ohio

It's summer, and even with an economy that leaves many parents feeling blue, kids still want to have fun and go on adventures. The Butterfly House in Whitehouse, Ohio is a great way to spend an afternoon iin Northwest Ohio without shelling out a lot of money.

Located in the country, just outside Whitehouse, Ohio, The Butterfly House consists of a gift shop, small greenhouse, outdoor picnic area, and the Butterfly Room. Visitors enter through the gift shop and pay for their entry into the Butterfly Room. Cost at time of this publication was $6.00 for adults and $4.50 for kids ages four to 12. Kids three and under were free, and seniors (over 65) were $5.00.

For the entry fee, each person receives a stamp on the hand and instructions on how to safely enter the Butterfly House. Because our outing was family only, and on a weekday, we were given unlimited time access to the Butterfly House. Once inside, you are immediately surrounded by plants, benches, small ponds, and butterflies.
On the day of our outing, the Blue Morpho butterfly was most active. These are large butterflies with blue on the top of their wings and brown underneath. There are at various times a total of 54 butterflies that are active. During our encounter, we saw about six different species frequently.

The Butterfly House is open and spacious with benches and various places to sit or stand, with the hope that one of the many butterflies will decide to perch on a visitor. Our son managed to have four different instances where a butterfly landed on his head. A Blue Morpho preferred a landing on my backside, which the kids loved.

The Butterfly House also features a window behind which "live" cocoons in various stages of development are displayed. An employee was available to answer questions, such as why one butterfly was sitting on top of another. The employee handled this question very well for my seven year old.

The Butterfly House is open to all ages, but very young children that are walking on their own will require careful supervision. Visitors are not allowed to catch, pick up, or swat at the butterflies. My four year old son was very intent on having the creatures land on him, but after about 20 minutes, my seven year old daughter was beginning to become jumpy at the constant close contact with the butterflies.

After exiting the Butterfly Room, a stroll around the gift shop allows visitors to express their wonder at the butterflies with T-shirts, umbrellas, coffee mugs, and different toys for the kids. A walk over the grounds provides great picture opportunities with a pond, picnic table, and even large butterfly wings to try on.

The location, overall cost, and time needed for travel and appreciation of The Butterfly House make it a great and inexpensive way to spend an afternoon in Northwest Ohio.