Come explore the Florida Museum of Natural History and Butterfly Rainforest in Gainesville! This is the perfect addition to LAF’s Junior Co-op Flying Creatures theme this school year. However, this trip is open to all families enrolled in the LAF Support Community.
Please read the complete description below before purchasing tickets.
Babies 0 – 2 years old are FREE. Please email president@learningandfamilies.org with the total number of babies attending.
This is the perfect addition to LAF’s Flying Creatures theme this school year. The Butterfly Rainforest is a can’t-miss living exhibit that features hundreds of free-flying butterflies and birds from around the world along with an assortment of other animals, including turtles and fish, to experience firsthand. Our trip will include:
- The Butterfly Rainforest
- Northwest Florida waterways and wildlife
- Library of Life
- Florida Fossils
- South Florida
- Our Energy Future
- Discovery Zone
Cost (Includes Butterfly Rainforest Admission) *Click links to purchase tickets
Meeting Place
- We will meet just outside the “Museum” entrance
- Please look for the sign that says, “LAF Check-In”
Food
- There is no place in the plaza for families to purchase food. There are restaurants close by on Archer Road – anything from Cheesecake factory to McDonald’s – there are a lot of options to choose from.
- The covered picnic area is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Open, grassy areas can be used for fair-weather lunches. Additional picnic tables are available adjacent to the UF Natural Area Teaching Lab next to the Entomology building on Surge Road.
- Please do not feed any of the wildlife that might come on the patio.
- Please make sure all trash is placed in the appropriate receptacles if extra trash receptacles are needed, please alert front desk staff.
- Please make sure to clean all trash and leftover food off the tables.
Parking
(Click here for directions to the Museum)
- Vehicle parking is available in front of the Harn Museum from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at a rate of $4 per day, cash, or credit/debit cards. Look for the Orange and Blue parking attendant booth on the right after turning off Hull Road.
- The Museum is not responsible for parking tickets. UF Transportation & Parking Services information and Museum comment cards are available at the front desk.
Special Instructions
- Green LAF T-shirts are mandatory for everyone attending the trip (anyone not wearing an LAF T-shirt will be required to purchase one on-site for $25 or forfeit their ticket)
- Please look for the sign that says, “LAF Check-In”
- Upon entering, we must stay in groups no larger than 15 people, including parents
Things to Know
- NO REFUNDS at any time for any reason.
- Tickets are NOT TRANSFERABLE.
- Late arrivals will NOT be allowed to enter.
- TEXT (941) 993-5870 if CANCELLING at any time
- The Butterfly Rainforest is an enclosed, outdoor exhibit
- The bat houses are across from Lake Alice on the UF campus. You cannot go and see inside of them, but you can watch them come out at dusk, if you wish to stay and do that.
General Museum Rules
- Stay at least 8″ away from the artwork and walls.
- Turn off all cell phones.
- No backpacks.
- No food, drink, or gum in the museum.
- Loose objects must be left in your vehicle.
- No touching of art is allowed.
- Stay at least 8″ away from the artwork and walls.
- Non-flash photography is allowed in all exhibitions.
- Flash photography is not permitted in any of the exhibitions.
- Cameras and camcorders are welcome unless specified for some featured exhibits.
- Tripods, monopods, and commercial photography are prohibited.
- The Discovery Zone is for children 2 to 8 years old.
- Only ONE group at a time in the Discovery Zone, Groups will be asked to leave the Discovery Zone if they do not follow this rule.
- 10 students plus their chaperones at a time in the gift shops.
Butterfly Rainforest Exhibit Rules
- Backpacks, large bags, umbrellas, and strollers are prohibited in the Butterfly Rainforest exhibit.
- Bags may be checked and left with Security at the Rainforest entrance desk.
- USDA regulations require staggered entrance into the Butterfly Rainforest exhibit and no touching of plants and animals.
Visitor Safety and Conduct (Group Size & Chaperone Responsibilities)
- Parents are responsible at all times for ensuring that their children explore the Museum in a safe and respectful manner.
- Parents must stay with their children at all times, no matter the age of the students.
- Parents are responsible for making sure children do not block walkways.
- Membership benefits do not include guided tour chaperone fees or organized groups (e.g., school groups, camp groups, affinity groups)
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