Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium

This is such a fun way to spend the afternoon, although I was bummed that it was so aimed at kids. The height and condition of some of the interactive exhibits reflected this and were not only awkward to use but also a little gross.
That aside, the two of us (adults) spent 2 hours going through all the exhibits including the bug tasting portion. This may sound weird but the waxworm cupcakes were really good!
The butterfly garden is amazing with birds (in cages), koi, a tortoise, and of course, a plethora of butterflies. Some were huge!
All in all, informative, fun, and worth the $ 20 price tag.

Super cool place, our kids would have loved it but this was just a visit for my husband and I. I was expecting more of a ‘museum’ with dead, displayed bugs, but was pleasantly surprised that most of the displays were live insects. We nearly missed the butterfly portion because we couldn’t find it behind the gift shop-​clever. So great! Live butterflies-​and some really large ones, fly around freely. There’s a great koi pond and little benches to sit and check it out. Totally worth it.

I’m the type that hates bugs, but find them very interesting. In our stay in New Orleans, me and my girlfriend found a almost dead giant cockroach in our bathroom and it took us 30 minutes to get rid of it. It ate pesticides and was barely able to move, but we spent most of the time stressing and staring at it deciding on what to do next. The same look I have when I am in calculus class trying to solve related rates.
But I was super excited to visit the insectarium. The exhibit is pretty small and you can quickly get through everything in roughly 10 minutes if you just breeze through each tank without spending time there. The insects range from giant centipedes, ants, cave cockroaches and more! My favorite was the ant farm which really shows how they work as a colony. The teamwork is real! I have trouble in group projects of 3. Props to the ants.
There is also a small man-​made cave with some scary surprises which was a good add-​on to the exhibit, The butterfly garden was also a good highlight with a wide range of different butterflies freely flying around the room. Made nectar look delicious!
All in all I would recommend this place if you are interested in bugs. I am scared of them, but I’m cool with them being in a tank. It’s a short exhibit which probably won’t last more than an hour, but you will definitely get to see things that you probably won’t see in our own daily lives. Except the bathroom maybe :)

Watched some metallic beetles engage in mating with multiple females. And the butterfly garden was beautiful.

Creepy and crawly with the most gorgeous displays of preserved butterflies and beetles you ever did see.
The butterfly room is frivolous and whimsical. Being among these flitting beauties was a treat.
This place is worth walking through. It’s geared toward children, but my grown ass had fun too. After all, how often do you come across insectariums?

If not for the butterfly garden, insect café, and my witnessing of metallic frog beetles mating I may have been disappointed. The vast majority of exhibits are geared toward kids which I guess is great if you have kids but I don’t.
This butterfly garden is smaller than the one in San Francisco so the probability of butterflies bumping into you is high and the diversity is amazing. It’s truly a spiritual experience — for me – and I would revisit this garden every year if I could.
I didn’t eat any insects; not part of my vegan/​vegetarian diet. But my partner tried all of it and we were entertained by the Cajun entomologist chef.
The gift shop could be so much more. Someone from this museum should visit Paxton Gate in San Francisco and get some better merchandising ideas.

Coolest place ever! It is kind of hidden in a busy place, I would have walked right past if I didn’t have my phone telling me directions. So much fun. They have so many butterflies — living and preserved — so pretty. Very educational! The ant exhibit was super cool — I made a video. The displays for the cockroaches was funny as well. Kids would freaking love this place. It is in a federal building so you have to go through a metal detector but otherwise no issues. Wasn’t crowded. This was my favorite between here, the zoo, and the aquarium. Must see!

This was the best part of the trip, the place will blow your mind with walking leaf, diving bugs, centipedes, scorpions, etc. There is an amazing metamorphosis section (got to see a monarch caterpillar enveloping itself into a pupa, talk about being at the right place at the right time!).
If you are interested in visiting the Aquarium, Zoo and Insectarium during your visit, the best value is in the combo pass which allows you to visit each place once, during a 30 day window. If looking at insects gets you appetite going, step into the kitchen and try out a variety of bugs in snack or desert form, accompanied by a wonderful, quirky chef that will tell you all you want to know about the crispy critters. Don’t waste any more time reading this review and GO!

Love this place! The butterfly exhibit (live butterflies) is amazing. It is a small museum (but bigger than I thought it would be) and very neat/​clean and well maintained. The 4d movie is super cheesy. Ties a couple of hours easily and parents and kids enjoyed it thoroughly!

We had a really great family day at the Insectarium. Honestly, it was just so nice to experience something new and see the kids excited over seeing things we had never encountered before. I must admit, I thought it was pretty cool to see bugs like the «Walking Leaf Bug» and the «White-​eyed Assassin.» After reading reviews, I knew this wasn’t a huge exhibit, so I think it helped that I didn’t have extravagant expectations. I can understand that people may be let down if they are expecting a huge museum – but this is perfect for a shorter visit, paired with walking around the quarter or nearby shopping/​eating. We also had a 3-​year-​old boy with us, so this was an awesome experience that didn’t tire him out or require too lengthy attention-​span demands.
Only major disappointment was that the Butterfly Garden was not available due to some issues they were having, but the staff was super-​nice about it and went out of their way to still share lots of butterfly info with our 5-​year-​old butterfly-​loving girl. The gift-​shop and bug café are cute, even offering samples of real bugs to feast on in the form of chocolate chip cookies, spreads on crackers, etc. We will definitely return using our Audubon membership in the near future.
A couple of tips – do remember, as others have said, it’s in the federal building, so there will be a metal detector and security measures before you enter. Also, be sure to check out the short little movie they have in the theater, but be prepared that it involves «sensory» experiences, so smells piped in and moving seats, etc. Some little ones may be freaked out, but mine handled it fine – nothing too major. The little «build a bug» game near the theater is also pretty cute and educational – allows kids to construct a bug on a touch-​screen and assess if their bug would survive in certain environments. And, be sure to stop at the spot in the corner close to the front for some neat info about tarantulas!

I bought lots of edible tasty bugs for my kid! They were out of chocolate covered scorpions, I’ll have to get some next time!

This was my favorite of the Audubon zoo/​aquarium/​insectarium. I like bugs and butterflies and don’t find them gross or disturbing. If you don’t like bugs go do something else. They have a nice range of insects, alive and preserved. There’s nice variety in the non-​live exhibits and it is very educational. They had a staff member showcasing two insects, one of which was featured on Nature the night before we went– so cool to see it up close and live. I touched a large centipede, ate a chocolate chirp cookie, and got to see amazing beautiful butterflies. If I lived in NOLA we would definitely have a membership to this place. My 3 year old was captivated by a good amount of the exhibits too.
The only negatives I have are: the café closed around 3 (right when we wanted some ice cream) and the gift shop had toy guns for sale. Really? Toy guns? There are so many other amazing insect related things they could come up with.

Small but neat. My girls enjoy coming here. Me, I could personally sit in the butterfly garden all day and read.
I did eat some of the bugs they serve, and they tasted great! It’s a hands on environment that is great for all to visit.

It’s OK if you just «HAVE» to have something to do, if you are traveling with kids or have an extreme interest in bugs.
I don’t mean to make it sound blasé but it was kinda lost a mediocre experience. The insectarium is large and filled with extraordinary insects.
Open Tuesday grouch Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Adults admission $ 20. I really wish I could be more excited. Lol
~Christy

We had a wonderful visit here. Highly recommended for all ages. The butterflies exhibit flying all over and landing on you is amazing.

We went to NOLA on vacation with kids 9 and 12. They loved this insectarium! It is very unique. I agree with others that the most beautiful is the live butterfly garden. (However, we did see several butterflies with broken wings, and some dead ones on the window sill that were not cleaned up.)
At first, we just purchased a ticket for this insectarium not knowing if we would have time for the zoo/​aquarium. The price for the ticket for just the insectarium is quite expensive given the size of the insectarium. You can go through this place within 2 — 3 hours. We then decided that same day to visit the aquarium and that’s when we decided to get the «Audubon Experience» Package deal. With that deal, you can go to the zoo, the aquarium, the insectarium + the movie theatre (4 things at the price of 1). That was such a. good deal that I couldn’t pass. So if you have time, do buy the experience deal and go to all 4 places, it’s definitely worth it.
This is located fairly close to the French Quarters, so you can definitely walk there. Very convenient!
I didn’t read Unilocal reviews before I go, so I didn’t realize that we can eat bugs at the café. Perhaps they should highlight that at the black board outside? I did see it said «Bugs Buffet» but was a «free» inserted between the two words with a little triangle So I thought it was just a regular food court like other places.

I had a blast hanging out here with my niece and nephew. The highlight of our visit was definitely the butterfly room. I’ve never been that close to so many beautiful butterflies. The kids loved the movie, petting areas, and the opportunity to taste the cricket cookies when we first arrived.

Super neat place. I love all the interaction there is and I did not expect that at a bug exhibit. Lots of neat creepy crawlers. They had a person with live bugs letting you pet them. They also have a bug tasting with some easy choices like bugs in cookies all the way to the straight cooked bugs. The chef wasn’t just someone hired to cook bugs, but she was extremely knowledgable about why bugs should be a staple. They had someone showing off caterpillars and even a caterpillar hatchery. Everyone working was super passionate about what they do!

⁴⁄₅ fun and informative!
so fun, only enhancement would have been a friend to come with! i checked this out during the reciprocal membership month and thought it’d be a quick oh look, lots of bugs, cool.
i was definitely wrong. first, it’s in this oddly interesting federal building. next, it’s just the right size, not too little, not too much. everything was really informative, i learned a few new things and also ate a few things. though, is it me or do all bugs just taste like fried oil? i’ve had a few things now and i think they all taste the same. is that insectist?
i liked that they had a little piece about the louisiana ecosystem, nice nod, and then there was a brilliant room of many colorful gems. finally, and i’m sure everyone loves this, the little butterfly garden thing. so many, so kawaii, so delicate, so whoa why is that turtle speeding past me? the thing was like, oh excuse me, i’m late to brunch. i mean it walked from one side of the room to the other in maybe just under a minute.
anyways, if it weren’t free this would probably have been cost-​prohibitive. but i think if i were you know, maybe tryna see someone this would be on the list. it was lots of fun.

Lots of dead bug exhibits, and I prefer live. The butterfly room was really cool, but you exit into a gift shop that is not ADA compliant. We knocked over a couple of things trying to get out. This is a great exhibit for kids.

Great for kids and adults alike. Look for coupon offers. Don’t rush through the displays or you will be disappointed about the size. Once you get to the hatchery spend a extra few minutes and you may see a new butterfly ‘hatch’ which is amazing. Give your kids a lecture about how if they touch the butterfly’s wings it will injure and mame them so the can no longer fly
If you don’t know how to relax and see things trough a child’s eyes, then this may not be for you. Staff is helpful and informative. If you like to eat bugs then have lunch here!

Kids loved it here, best part was the indoor butterfly japanese garden (way better than the one at the smithsonian natural history museum i might add). Loved the air condition and convenient next to canal place parking.
Another highlight was the free cookies/​snacks (with and without bugs) in a beautiful cooking showroom kind of room. All the staff are superfriendly.
Can be a bit of a wait to get thru security (it is in a federal building), so would plan for it.

Had a blast with the kids, well worth the money. Butterfly garden and the collections was amazing

It was pretty cool. A little small overall and the butterfly garden was also pretty small compared to others. I think its a really cool place for kids to visit, and all the children I saw while there were having the best time. There was a pretty good variety of butterflies in the butterfly garden, but it was just one small path around a pound so there isn’t much room to explore. They also have a really cool display comparing bugs to people/​athletes so you can see just how strong and fast and I guess athletic insects are.

«Bugs, worms, roaches, tarantulas and more». I am happy to report that they are enclosed and are not crawling around! My daughter was so excited to finally come here because of her latest obsession with bugs and wanting to interact with them! She was fascinated with all the creepy crawly insects roaming about in their respective enclosures (thankfully). Never thought I would ever mention this, but eating bugs and worms even became part of our experience! Yes, they have a bug buffet! Cinnamon Toast Crickets anyone or mealworms spread on a cracker? We feasted! No, not really because most of the time I spent cringing and making yuck faces. I could hardly believe I ate bugs on crackers! I loved the employees at the buffet that were so enthusiastic when talking about how bugs were great for our diets. Oh what fun it was to eat mealworms and bugs! My daughter thoroughly enjoyed the experience and was enjoyable to see because it’s not everyday you see a 5-​year old excited about eating bugs. My favorite parts I have to say were the simulated theater and the butterfly exhibit. Finally, we reached the end-​of-​the-​road and arrived at the gift shop. Full of surprises there from chocolate-​covered scorpions to scorpion lolipops! Yes, we ended up leaving with one and it went to my very enthusiastic daughter, who was more than ecstatic to be eating a scorpion lolipop. If you park at the Shops At Canal Place, don’t forget to bring your parking ticket, so you get validation (at Insectarium) for a discount. The museum isn’t extremely large, so you can easily experience it in a few hours and move on to another NOLA attraction.

Have you eaten a bug before? If you haven’t, well wait no further, because for the price of an adult ticket, you can see the BIG cockroaches, to the long millipedes and even try a bug or two!
I’ve been to NOLA a good amount of times in my life, but I had not yet gone to the Insectarium. I’ve heard from many that this was an awesome place to visit. We went on Tuesday on St. Patrick’s Day (my birthday). It was walking distance from our hotel in the French Quarter. When we got there, I couldn’t help but let my inner nerd squeal with excitement! I was ready to check this place out!
The Insectarium is located in a federal building so we had to go through a metal detector. No big deal, who plans on carrying their piece while visiting bugs anyways? When I walked through I was buzzing… apparently, my silver bracelets were setting them off, so I had to take every one of them off– that’s more work than I have to do when I travel at the airport!
We finally get there, and yes, I am that dork that wants to read and look at every single thing. After about 10 minutes of that, a big group of children, who looked like they were on a field trip was there. They were young children, perhaps 7 – 9 age group, so that made reading everything and looking at everything not as enjoyable but to their defense they were just being kids– getting in front of other people instead of waiting their turn, pushing each other, talking really loud, etc. So I started to skim and move away from that group.
My favorite part was the butterfly garden. It was really serene and pretty. I enjoyed seeing the big koi fishes as well. The Louisiana swamp gallery was cool. But the thing I really wanted to do was try a bug!
At the Bug Appetit, there were different samples of bugs cooked in various seasoning and recipes. I tried it all, but my favorites were the pan fried bugs, as they were crunchy and took the flavor of the seasonings they were cooked in. Overall, bring an open mind, enjoy, and have fun! This was a really cool place to visit and I totally recommend it, even if you’re not as dorky as me. Squealing in excitement is optional.

What an awesome place to take the kids or anyone really to enjoy the wild side of a bugs life. I like the hands on display where folks can touch various bugs today it was a millipede, the last time it was a rhino beetle. All the exhibits are well maintained. The leaf cutter ants running up a tree limb. They have a bug buffet where folks can actually eat bug! A whole new term to get your grub on! We tried the cricket cookie, some meal worms and bug dip. bllaahhh. Had oreo ice cream right after. The other nice part is the butterfly zen garden with beautiful Kois in the pond. It’s a little muggy but we spend most of our time with the butterflies. You can’t touch them but if they fly on your hand bingo! As with all rides the butterfly exhibit exits to the toy store :(.

Cool but kind of pricey would be the best way to sum up my experience at the insectarium. It was neat to see so many exotic bugs, but… the butterfly exhibit was a little lacking. Maybe I’m just spoiled because there’s a botanical garden in my hometown that has a butterfly exhibit that’s 10X bigger than this one?
Still, I think it’s worth the trip if you’re looking for something touristy to do that doesn’t involve drinking or fighting off hobos.

Bugs are creepy. Most make my skin crawl. The bigger they are, the grosser they look. You can see the segmented arms and pincher and the underside that sometimes looks like armor. So how come I paid to go and see them? Because this is the only time I will view them without running away screaming.
You will get plenty of bug action here at the Insectarium. The place is small, but the exhibits are well designed and placed. It’s also located inside a Federal building, so they close strictly at 5:00. Give yourself plenty of time to see the exhibits and the butterfly exhibit in particular. I’ve seen other butterfly exhibits, but this one seems to have a larger variety of butterflies and it is well worth it. Part of it is a simulated Japanese garden with a pool with koi and a bench where you can sit and enjoy the view of the butterflies.
There are giant kind looking bugs hanging from the ceiling as decorations, but when you get down to the exhibits you will see bugs such as beetles, termites, katydids in all different sizes and colors. Wow! I never knew they came in such beautiful colors. They have roaches galore, cave, hissing and American. Eeya! You’ll see different types of beetles and even a Beetle Bug Volkswagen for you to go inside and take the wheel. There are also exhibits of dead insects, where to my astonishment the colors of the bugs retain and are so vibrant and colorful. There is an area where an Aububon assistant explains things about the insects and shows off larvae, pupae and other wonderful bug facts.
If after the exhibits you are still in the mood for bugs, you can go get some souvenirs at the gift shop or consume some bugs at their cafeteria. No way! That’s something I have to skip! Great place for the family and especially kids.

Leider für mich gar kein Highlight. Die ganze Aufmachung ist zu sehr auf Kinder ausgerichtet, es ist klein, laut, alles ist aus Plastik und die Geschichten zu den einzelnen Insekten sind platt. Das Schmetterlingshaus hätte Potential, aber auch dort konnte bei mir keine Erlebnisstimmung aufkommen. Eher was für Eltern mit 5– bis 9-​jährigen Kindern.

If creepy cockroaches skeeve you out but fascinate you all the same, by all means come to this wonderful insectarium housed in the NOLA Customs House. We had loads of fun, going eeck and ahh, and didn’t have time to pore through all the insects in the 1.5 hours we had left to see it. The place is small so if you are not a huge fan of insects you can blitz through it. If you are like me and enjoy reading the labels and staring at bugs crawling and creeping, then you can spend a while. I was slightly disappointed that there were so many exhibits with plaster models of bugs or with no bugs at all – I went to see the many legged creatures in all their natural or creepy beauty. The butterfly exhibit was great, providing many photo ops if you have the right camera. There is a lovely koi pond and several benches located in that exhibit for those who have had enough sightseeing. We didn’t get a chance to eat any bugs and not sure we would have anyway but for the adventurous Unilocalers, there is a restaurant area where you can buy food, including cooked bugs. In Nola, I’d stick to my fried oysters and beignets.
This is in a federal building so you will go through a metal detector. So leave the knives at home – they won’t protect you from the insects which are in their glass houses anyway. Besides, that escaped cave cockroach can probably climb up your leg faster than you can throw your pocketknife at it.

This is my second time at the Insectarium and fortunately each time I had free passes. Otherwise I would be a little annoyed at how small this insectarium and how expensive the entrance fee is.
Anywho, the first time I went was with a girlfriend of mine and we arrived an hour or so before closing time. We had a good time but the insectarium was so small we breezed through it in an hour. Pretty much the same experience this time around when I went with my Mom. But this time I knew what to show her.
First of all it’s located on a federal building so you will go through a metal detector and all nags go through a scanner. Btw, don’t be like me and set the darned thing off three times. Apparently my bracelet, belt, and watch set it off. Just take all your metal items off and save yourself the time!
Secondly, head straight to the back left and eat some bugs! Since my Mom and I had about an hour in this joint I dragged her to the back to eat bugs! The first item we ate were crickets that were baked into a yummy little dessert (see my pic). Then I had the herb sauce with some other bug in it on crackers. Since it was the end of the day the nice lady said we could have as much as we wanted but we didn’t want to be greedy so we each had one bite! I just couldn’t eat the mealworm items because I’d rather not see the bugs I’m eating! Overall they tasted delish! Btw, the front part is a café and the big eating is in the back room!
One thing I enjoyed this second time around is the 8 minute movie. Like a previous reviewer said it’s interactive with your seat moving, stinky smells coming out, blasts of air etc. My Mom got a kick out of it and laughed a lot which made me smile. Usually she’s pretty quiet and demure so I was quite pleasantly surprised to see how much she enjoyed it!
And of course my favorite part is the Japanese butterfly garden! Ahhh… so beautiful to see butterflies fluttering around! It kind of cracked me up to hear these little boys getting freaked out by harmless butterflies! There are colorful little birds in a big cage. And there is a koi pond with mist coming out of it. The temperature is a hit warm and humid in here so be forewarned. One lady had two butterflies resting on her arm which was cool. But be forewarned that it’s against the law to take butterflies outside of the exhibit. Just check to make sure you don’t have a butterfly on you before you leave!
Happy Insect Eating!