Butterfly House Upgrades Exhibits, Facility
By Eric Fish

Butterfly House employee Stephanie Brandl shows off the bearded dragon to Rose Pioneer Elementary School fourthgrader D'Onte Weeden May 15. The bearded dragon is one of many new creatures in the Butterfly House's new Insect World exhibit.

Michigan's oldest live butterfly display has just received a major makeover.

The Mackinac Island Butterfly House behind Ste. Anne's Church was completely renovated during the winter, and a new exhibit full of insects and other creatures was added to make the facility more like a nature center.

As for the renovating, said manager Lisa Janisse, "We really just brought everything up to code."

The front deck, rotted boards, and walls were repaired and the education room was upgraded to look better.

Now, the education room features interactive displays about the life cycle of butterflies and permanent visuals that allow for a more enjoyable experience. But in essence, the whole renovation process was designed to give customers a better time.

"It was a customer issue in a couple of ways," Ms. Janisse said. "We gave our customer creature comforts, which they need."

Aside from heat and air conditioning throughout the complex, a new waterfall was added in the butterfly exhibit and the exit from the butterfly area no longer leaves the customer in a run-down greenhouse and large gift shop. Customers now exit the butterfly area into the brand new insect world exhibit.

The insect exhibit houses a turtle pond with red-eared slider and wood turtles, a ball python snake, green anoles, spiders, beetles, walking sticks, scorpions and spiders, giant millipedes, and a bearded dragon, which is native to Australia.

About 75% of the original gift shop was reduced to make room for the new exhibit, which was constructed over a four-month period in the winter.

"Our repeat customers that come back just go, 'I cannot believe what you did to this building,'" Ms. Janisse said.

The staff is still investigating which animals work best, she added, and more things will come in the future.

"We have knowledgeable people here who can answer your questions," she said, "who can get these creatures out, and know how to handle them and when to handle them."

The Butterfly House opened for business on May 4, but an official grand opening is being planned for later.