Educational Fun at the Butterfly Atrium at Hershey Gardens

The Butterfly Atrium at the Hershey Gardens is open year-round and is perfect for educational fun! When visiting you'll have the opportunity to walk among hundreds of exotic butterflies from around the world in a recreated tropical environment.

When you arrive, you'll want to pay your admission fee at the ticket counter. The atrium is located to the right of the gift shop. Before you go in though...I recommend that you walk around the lobby and check out some of the information they have posted there. For example, there is a board that shows you their migration route up and down the east coast in North, Central and South America.

They take you inside the Butterfly Atrium in small groups. The guide will give you some information about the butterflies inside and there are rules & guidelines for visiting. For example:

- Don't touch the plants or butterflies.
- Stay on the walking paths.
- Watch where you're walking & don't step on the butterflies.
- When leaving, a guide will help inspect you to make sure that no butterflies are hitch hiking their way out.
- These are not timed tours. You can leisurely walk around in there at your own pace.
- No food or drink is allowed inside.

Once inside you'll want to walk around really slowly, so that you don't step on any of the butterflies. They will fly around you, above you, beside you and at times...land on you. When they do land on you, don't touch them! The rule is...the butterflies can touch you, but you can't touch them. If they land on you, don't worry...they won't stay long and they don't bite!

In the atrium you'll see a rainforest scene that includes plants, trees, flowers, shrubs and a few small water features. You'll want to look every where for the butterflies...on tree trunks, hanging underneath leaves, sitting on top, on the ground and make sure you look up high towards the ceiling too! They are everywhere!

On the day that we visited they had two different feeding stations set up. Each station had slices of juicy watermelon and pineapple that were put out for them to enjoy. The children who were visiting, really liked hanging out in front of the feeding stations and watching the butterflies come in and out.

According to the guide...you'll see hundreds of different butterflies from all around the world inside the Atrium. Some of these species come from North America, Central America, South America, Africa and Asia. At the back of the atrium you can visit the Chrysalis Cabinet to get a rare glimpse into the pupal stage of a butterfly.

This was our third visit to the Butterfly Atrium in the past year and every time we go we learn something new or see something that we didn't see before. It's a great educational experience for the entire family to enjoy. On top of that, it's just a beautiful place to see and experience.

After your done at the Butterfly Atrium you can head on out and walk through the beautiful botanical gardens, see water fountains, garden statues, etc. If you have children along with you, make sure you head to the children's garden for some fun! Every season the gardens offer something new and different, so I do recommend visiting a few times every year if you can.

If you want to learn more about Hershey Gardens and see some extensive photographs that we've taken on previous visits, you can read some of our previous posts. Today's post we wanted to focus mainly on the Butterfly Atrium at Hershey Gardens in Hershey Pennsylvania. Remember, it's open-year round, rain or snow!

Leatherback Sea Turtles Wall Mural in Wildwood

I'm a big fan of David Dunleavy's artwork and I love driving around and photographing his wall murals when I can find them. On a recent trip down to Wildwood this past summer, I was able to find his "Endangered Leatherback Sea Turtles" wall mural in Wildwood New Jersey.

He has a gallery list on his website of the different murals he's painted but it doesn't give specifics on where they're located, other than the city. Often times I spend HOURS running around just trying to find one.

This particular wall mural that he painted is on the side of a building on the famous Wildwood Boardwalk. Right now, The Original Fudge Kitchen is housed in that building and the mural on painted on the side. It measures 20 feet high by 80 feet long.

The mural was dedicated in July of 2007 and has become quite faded over the years from the bright sun and the saltwater. Even though it's fade in color, I think it's still quite beautiful to see. It was painted as a reminder that the Leatherback Sea Turtles are endangered. As a turtle lover, that saddens me and I hope we can build up their numbers and keep them safe.

I think this is the 7th or 8th David Dunleavy wall mural that I've been able to personally see and photograph. You can find some of my previous posts on his wall murals right here on our travel blog. The ones that I've seen have been in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

If you would like to check out David Dunleavy's artwork and look through his wall mural gallery, I suggest you visit his website. You can find some of the other wall mural photos that I have taken by visiting my Murals & Street Art Pinterest board.

Note: You can click on each photo in this travel feature which will open it up in a new window and in an enlarged size, so that you can see all of the smaller details up close.

Roxy's Chatterbox Cafe in Hummelstown

Roxy's Chatterbox Cafe is a small cafe located in a small town called Hummelstown in Pennsylvania. The town sits right outside of Hershey and is a short drive from Harrisburg, so if you're visiting the central Pennsylvania area, you'll be able to find them quite easily.

Roxy's Chatterbox Cafe
254 West Main Street
Hummelstown, Pennsylvania 17036

This quaint cafe located right on West Main Street opened it's doors back on June 22nd, 2004 and seats up to 50 people. They are open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 AM to 2 PM and serve only lunch. They serve a variety of homemade foods such as: hot soups, hot and cold sandwiches, a variety of tasty salads, quiches, breads, desserts (cakes, pies and ice cream) and hot and cold beverages. They do have a small kid's menu with reasonably priced items.

You can decide to eat-in or order take-out. If you're hosting a party, talk to them about group dining services and their catering servings which I hear are quite good, although I've never used them personally myself. Once inside you'll find 3 nice-sized dining rooms with each one being decorated in a different style.

You can find this cafe really easily once you are on West Main Street in Hummelstown, just look for the pink and white Victorian home that was converted and remodeled into this beautiful cafe and eatery. Once there, you'll find free parking located in the back.

Visiting the area and looking for something to do? You'll find Indian Echo Caverns, ZooAmerica, the Hershey Outlets, Hersheypark, Hershey's Chocolate World, The Hershey Story Museum and other attractions within a 15 minute drive.

Note: You can click on the photo in this post and it will open up in a new window and in an enlarged size, so that you can view the details up close.