Field Trip Fridays – Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium

I feel like last summer was a complete disaster.  I am sure it wasn’t that bad but in my memory the last two have been rough and kind of uneventful for the kids.  Two summers ago I was pregnant and last summer I had a six month old who demanded to breastfeed constantly so we didn’t do a whole lot.

This summer I made a plan that we were going to do a lot of fun things but not to put too much pressure on myself (as summer can still be a lot for a mom of three boys) I decided we would save the big stuff for Fridays.  During the week we are having play dates with friends and going to the pool and then on Friday we are going to do a field trip.

This week we were supposed to have Justin’s favorite uncle in town to visit from Miami but he got sick and wasn’t able to come.  We had made plans to be in New Orleans pretty much all weekend so I wasn’t sure what we should do on Friday.  My mom suggested we go to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas and then we thought about the Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium.  Peyton has only been once and the other boys and I had never been.

In case you have not been it’s very close to the Aquarium.  We parked at Canal Place and walked over about a block.  Just so you know the Insectarium is located in a federal building so there are restrictions on what you can bring into the building.  They will also check your bags and you have to walk through a metal detector.

The boys were in love with the place as soon as we entered.  There is so much for kids to see and it is all on their level.  Plus, like with all of the other Audubon properties, the kids can climb and jump and touch just about everything.  There were roaches to touch, a working ant farm, a real life view of what it would be to live like an ant, bugs to eat, alligators to watch eat their lunch and an interactive movie.  It is the perfect place for kids but especially boys.  Even the baby was happy and laughing and trying to do everything his brothers were doing.

Here are a few pictures from our trip!

The Insectarium ends with a trip through the butterfly garden.  It was beautiful but I was so busy keeping the kids from stepping on the butterflies or jumping in the water that I didn’t take any pictures.  After we finished our tour we washed our hands and went to have lunch.  It was a short walk down Decatur to Crescent City Brewhouse.  Slightly more expensive than a regular lunch but it was nice to have the treat.  Plus the Seafood Cheesecake is worth it any day of the week.

Just so you know my mom will be a staple at most of these field trips.  Taking them all to do something like this is still a little crazy and I can always use backup.

This coming Friday we have Vacation Bible School so we will be doing a week long field trip basically.  I will be doing this post weekly for the remainder of the summer.  Looking forward to some fun adventures.