Franklin Park Conservatory

It is a big weekend for my family. More to come on that later, but my immediate family on my dad's side is in town from Charlotte and Dallas for a few days. Of course we raved about the PERFECT weather we had all through September, listing all the fun things we could do outside when they came into town. Aaaaaand it was sleeting today. Where do you take a group of adults mixed with a wild child and a baby?  My mom found the perfect spot...

Franklin Park Conservatory is downtown, and home to a giant greenhouse with all the different biomes of earth (remember that word?) From May through October, it is also home to butterflies! We are catching them right at the end of their life cycles, but there were still plenty to be seen and beautiful scenery to entertain all of us.

 

The conservatory is also host to several art installations by Dale Chihuly, which my family really enjoyed. That's my dad's baby brother Earl. My sister is in the teal behind him.

Aside from the butterflies, the South Conservatory has these gigantic koi fish. That orange one on the bottom was bigger than our cat and one of our dogs!  Larkyn loved these guys.

And I love this guy. I like to pretend he already knows sign language and is telling me something profound here. No, he's just taking in the sights. The Conservatory is stroller friendly!

The Palm House is used for special events. We were part of a wedding in the Palm House about a year ago, and nothing compares to it. Maybe we can use it for Larkyn's wedding in about 25 years if she marries a doctor. She just dipped her entire arms in the water.

The upstairs has a few terraces with a million photo op spots. We actually saw a couple reenact their engagement for a photo session, which was entertaining. My mom was in the middle of telling Larkyn to stay inside. Typical.

Being so close to Halloween, their seasonal exhibit is "scary plants". I had no idea there were so many plants that ate insects. They did a puppet show of "Little Shop of Horrors", but we didn't stay to watch. Larkyn found this instead. The highlight of her month, maybe. It is a giant Venus Fly Trap that you can catch a pretend buzzing fly in...

Obsessed.

This was in the rainforest biome (North Conservatory). There are waterfalls everywhere, which was great news for Larkyn, who asks me no less than once per day if we are going to Niagara Falls today.

He had turns being held by all his aunties and Nana today. Can we please talk about this shirt? I bought it the day after I found out I was having a boy.

At the end of the Rainforest room, there is an amazing fairy garden (this is only a section of it) with a tiny train and Disney figurines. She is frustrated because she wants to be IN the garden and it is most definitely not accessible to toddler climbing.

If you live in the area, this is a good change of pace for your young children. Especially if you have older family members to entertain or need an idea for a rainy day. Children under 3 are free, kids are $6 and adults are $12.