Reviews of Butterfly House & Aquarium (Tourist Attraction)

Justin Breems

Aquarium area has a great variety of reef displays with a touch tank for starfish, urchin, and sea slugs that you can touch. There is also a touch tank for stingray. The butterfly area is nice but gets cramped when busy. Has some great learning points throughout. Took my two 18 month old twins and we were done in about an hour.

Julio Garcia

The kids loved it

lisa uehling

Loved this place. Especially the butterfly house

Amanda Baker

Amazing place to take the kids and so close to home!

Jordan St.Clair

My wife and I took our three kids for the first time since the remodel and it was amazing! The new aquarium is great and the touch pond was really neat. Everyone that worked there was really knowledgeable and informative. Would recommend this as a half day excursion to any family!

Dave Anderson

Definitely worth the money to walk through, a chance to touch tropical sea creatures, and some of the ambiance lighting of the room mixed with the neon colored aquatic life is awesome. I'm not huge into butterflies, but it was interesting to be surrounded by so many different species, and little birds that lived in the habitat. Great staff and fun pit stop, highly recommend!

September Johnson

Loved it. It was amazing. We had a great time.The staff was so kind. I highly recommend everyone checks this place out.

Kaity Petersen

Fantastic place! I love to go here whenever we sre in Sioux falls. My kids have a blast everytime!!

Samuel Toler

We stopped here for about an hour. There’s about 5/6 large tanks with pretty fish and a stingray you can touch. The butterfly house was a hit with out 5 year old. The volunteer in the butterfly house was just lovely and assisted us to get a butterfly on the flower my daughter could then hold. All the staff/volunteers here were super nice and helpful. Really nice little stop.

Yvonne Ewert

The kids loved the hands-on experiences in the aquarium! The Butterfly House was beautiful!

Brandon Thomsen

Was a great experience! Nice up close interaction!

David McGinnis

nice and relaxing sadly couldn't pet the stingrays when I went, the butterfly house is warm and bright makes a great place to go on a cold winter day

Traci Humphrey

Small, personable aquarium and butterfly house. Only negative was that they didn't have any Handwashing or sanitizer station after touching the sea animals. But my kids loved touching the starfish, sea cucumber, and other animals. Small but nice.

Jay Coleman

Cool place. Definitely better for kids but I took the time to read the displays and I learned at least a thing or two

Foree

Well done. Doesn’t take a lot of time to go through. Aquarium workers were very helpful.

Caitlin Hamstra

The aquarium has a variety of sea life. You can touch rays and other aquatic life. There's even a bubble you can stand in to feel like you're in the ocean! The aquarium portion is pretty small, but still fun for kids. The butterfly house is full of butterflies, flowers, foliage, and even quail! Lots of fun for little and big kids! There's also a geological section that I almost missed. It's behind the gift shop. Don't miss it. Very interesting history of South Dakota geography and aquatic (!) life.

Nancy Tovar

The butterfly house is super-cool. Pay the extra $3 for the little red fabric flower the staff sprays with nectar (watered down Gatorade).

sblack blackmon

Small but tons of butterflies. We enjoyed it.

Ryana Ramos

I really liked it and enjoyed it there it wasn't too packed it wasn't too busy prices were pretty good it costs 30 for me and my fiance and my two daughters sadly when I went my biggest thing that I love is stingrays but they had just gotten new ones in so the stingray petting zoo part was closed but the butterfly room on the other hand made up for everything it was amazing I would definitely recommend this place to family's with younger kids

Cassie G

The butterfly house was wonderful, and a very helpful & friendly volunteer was working. The aquarium was smaller than expected. While very helpful staff were roaming to tell us more and answer questions, we were surprised at the lack of signs by fish tanks. Aside from a sign stating where these animals were found, there was nothing to tell even the name of animals, not to mention more info about them. That part was disappointing. Still would recommend checking out! A fun way to spend an hour or two.

Megan Gute

Wasn't sure what this place would be like but it blew me away. Pay the extra money to feed the butterflies! Such an amazing experience to get close to nature!

Adam Hofer

Great place to take the kiddos.

chad callies

Neat place staff was very knowledgeable and helpful. Lived the 'hands on' exhibits.

Lisa Helling

Lovely little find - recommend it if you have kids!

Kirsten Wiese

Great place to bring children! So much fun

Jeff Ladegaard

We went as part of a field trip with my son's school, and it was interesting, but quite small and a bit crowded since they done actually block off time for tours that come through. So your there with anyone else that might be just stopping by.

Mikayla Blumer

This is more of a Butterfly House than it is an aquarium. You walk in, there’s a touch pool and stingray pool, surrounded by six or seven tanks with your basic “aquarium” fish (i.e. clownfish, seahorses, blue tangs). The Butterfly House portion is actually very neat and there are several different types of butterflies. If you pay extra at admissions, they can give you a feeder for the butterflies. I think the admission price for this Butterfly House/Aquarium a little hefty for the small amount of exhibits there actually are.

Nathan Blaseg

We enjoyed getting to see jellyfish, a manta ray, and lots of other sea creatures. We even got to touch a sea cucumber, a salt-water snail, sea urchins, and the manta ray! We did not expect this, but it was awesome! The workers were knowledgeable and friendly. Then, we went to the butterfly house and watched butterflies feed on fruit and pollinate flowers. We also saw some baby quail and lots of turtles roaming around. A really fun time! We were really glad we decided to stop by this place.

Matt R

Had a blast with my nephew's that are 4 and 2

Sarah Baker

Excellent! This small aquarium and butterfly house is amazing. While there are only a few water tanks, they are all well kept and clearly loved by the caretakers. The butterfly enclosure is very well cared for and wonderful. There is also 2 touch tanks and a discovery area that is well done. Really a great place to visit at any age, but great for young kids. Our group was 2 adults, but we really appreciated the knowledge and care of the staff.

Ayris Cable-Cheval

Great place to take the kiddos. Maybe a little expensive for what they have there, but we really enjoyed our visit. We were just in town for the day, so it was a nice excursion. It is wheelchair accessible. The touch tanks are fantastic for a sensory experience. Most of the volunteers were knowledgeable and answered questions from inquiring young minds.

Morin Twins

Always a good time. Entertainment for a large age range. Kids love the fish. They love seeing the butterflies, but still get scared when they land on them. Jellyfish exhibit is very cool. It took 4 years of going there for them to finally touch the sea urchin, cucumbers, etc. When we lived in Sioux falls we had a membership and went all the time.

Mikayla Hoekman

Small building, not worth the money. It was cool and friendly staff just not worth the money for how small it is.

Jessica Dolas

Loved it, but very expensive to go unless you get a membership and make it worth it

Sydney Dirkswager

Awesome place, found this spot on our way to Denver. Lots of cool fish and insects and the staff was very friendly. =)

Scott Schewe

An unexpectedly great decision

Kelli Slager

Kids loved it-- quite small but offered everything from a full butterfly house, to tide pools touches, manta Ray pool and nice aquarium. We spent an hour there with a six and nine year old. Kids enjoyed it. We grabbed lunch and ate at the Park outside--- kids didn't want to leave the park... lots of playgrounds spread out. We'd hoped to take in outdoor classroom building but didn't quite have time.

Jamie D

Outrageous price for a 3 year old .. obviously price to cater to the Rich... A great place for kids too bad some people can't afford....

Justin Campbell

Nice place to visit with the family. Little ones get to touch a few things in the aquarium including stingrays. Fun for them to feed the butterflies and there was a nice variety of butterflies. Price maybe a tad high but not terrible for a fun experience.

svhaze 56

Great place to relax and enjoy. The beautiful butterflies. You really wont find anything like it in this region!

brad ruhland

Kids loved it!! Staff was amazingly welcoming and knowledgeable!!

Brad T

It's small but fun a fun place with an aquarium feature which is great (especially for kids) because they can touch star fish, sea cucumbers, stingrays and more. Butterflies are very active both times I've gone over the years too. For most part the gift shop is lower than average price which I thought was note worthy too.

Jamie Milheiser

This was a really cool place. My 5 year old daughter absolutely loved it

jennifer johnson

It was so cool. There are between 800-1000 butterflies in there. We opted to get the nectar flowers to get a close up view of the butterflies. The kids got a little freaked out because they would fly in their faces. I highly recommend stopping here!!!

Matt Grev

This is not a large aquarium by any means, and it is also more expensive than I would have thought. But I will soon have a child of my own and I can definitely see the allure for small children and I appreciate that it is available. There are multiple viewing tanks with a variety of fish. The main attraction is he touch tank and the rays/shark tank where you can touch the animals as they swim past. I love these types of exhibits and will definitely be bringing my child here when they are old enough to come. The butterfly house is first rate, there are many butterflies and they land on you as you walk through. There are places to sit and enjoy your surroundings, plenty of picture opportunities. Also, they have button quail wandering around in the garden and they are the cutest little little birds to watch go about their lives. We spent a large amount of time in the butterfly house and will be back.

Kimberly Hudson

I loved this place!!! Staff was so knowledgeable and friendly. The butterfies were amazing

Tom Beckel

Tons of butterflies all around, landing on you, and just a relaxing place.

LuAnne Heemstra

Kind of pricey though

Pennilynn McNew

Quiet, but friendly, well managed, fun. Great job with their efforts being non funded. Good experience.

Cathy Morris

Worth the trip. There's a small aquarium as well as the butterfly house. The butterflies were abundant and beautiful. So many vivid colors. Lots of vegetation and some quails for pest control. There's helpful volunteer staff. Peaceful and lovely.

Jessann Smith

So fun! What an experience.

Derek Pogorels

Smallish, yet very fun for my 4 and 8 year olds, the nectar feeding flowers in the butterfly house was a big hit. They also loved the touch pools and fish tanks.

Joni Komperda

This is a lovely facility. Great for children and adults alike. There are lots of cool sea creatures to see. The butterfly house is fantastic, a really fun experience. It makes me want to go to more butterfly houses! This was also a great learning experience and a great indoor activity when the weather is not great.

Kathleen Burgess

Fun. The stingrays are my grandson's favorite!

KayLee Door

The employees were so sweet and the entire place was beautiful, it's a bit expensive but a very cool place!

Phil Schneider

Nice place to visit. Great displays and nice butterfly house.

kalina Grimm

We love this place. I purchased a membership so that I could go again and again. It's peaceful. People mention the price, but the proceeds are what run the place and up keep the animals. Their goal is outreach and conservation, just like the small zoo. If people have great interactions with animals, they are much more likely to be concerned about their welfare-even if we are in landlocked SD and the wild for them are oceans. It's small but worth the experience. Take your time. Enjoy the butterflies. Pet the stingrays.

Heather Cousineau

Cute, small, but very well kept. The staff cares deeply about the animals in their care!

Mary Cox

The butterflies were gorgeous and followed us around!!

Dennis Fixsel

Great place to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Sabrina

the volunteers were so sweet and the butterfly’s were beautiful! can’t wait to come back someday

Susan Lentz

Overpriced small building. Aquarium was one room with a tub of stingrays. Butterflies were ok. Most of space was the gift store. We were there for 15 minutes tops.

Lisa Cash

Very cool to just go and see the butterflies doing their thing. The small aquarium is perfect for younger kids to see the fish and sting rays but not overwhelming. Definitely recommend a membership, it pays for its self rather quickly.

Sherry Passananti

Great experience and extremely helpful if you need help with seeing the sealife and are in a wheelchair.

Timmothy Fanning

I was so cool!!! You have a variety of aquatic animals to touch and one of them is Stingrays! Also there are many butterflies to look at!

Rick Stefan

Nice setup. Little expensive for such a small place

Alex Lawler

Small place but with beautiful exhibits and very friendly, knowledgeable staff

heath price

Very interesting. Good time for kids

Daniella Sheldon

Bad place was not happy that we could not take a Stroller in and that you can hardly walk and you cannot take drinks and either

Meghan Randall

The aquarium is wonderful, the touch pool is set up really well for bigger or smaller kids and the butterflies are always fun to look at.

Rod McClanahan

Nice place to visit. Butterflies were beautiful.

Nadine Raddatz

It was pretty nice but definitely not worth the price to enter. The butterfly area was fun to watch. I feel once you been there once you probably won't be back.

D Johnson

Neat place. Kids liked it after they got over the butterflies landing on them. Beautiful aquarium area too!

Jose Alvarez

Interactive learning for adults and children. Reasonably priced and largest butterfly house in the region. Also many species making their way each week so their is usually something new and interesting to see. Mind the blue morphos!

Mike Miers

This place is well kept and there is some great information to learn. However, It’s a huge stretch to call this an aquarium. There are maybe six small fish tanks. The touch pool and the string ray tank are neat. I fully understand what they are trying to accomplish here and I think they are doing it but the price is completely outrageous for what you get. You could cut admission in half and have twice the volume of people come through which in the end would lead to larger profits because people love the gift shop. This is the type of place that should really join forces with the local zoo. We have two zoo’s back home and they both have a butterfly house as nice, if not nicer than this one. Overall a fine experience just a bummer for what you pay.

Terri Carlson

Great place to see all different types of butterflies!

Russell Montgomery

Neat place to see. A bit on the pricey side.

Jerry Caspar

So much fun here. It’s too bad that the pricing is fairly expensive; but honestly you don’t see this type of family fun anywhere besides huge cities. The butterflies are always so plentiful, great seating for just enjoying the environment, and a great selection of sea creatures to both see and touch. You won’t regret spending the money to stop in.

Chris Edwards

Beautiful experience! It's a must see attraction!

Tiffany Walberg

My kids absolutely love going to the butterfly house. Last time we went, one of the workers I'm the butterfly room actually walked with us to point out specific butterflies and then she followed up with facts about them. It was neat! The aquarium section is a bit small but it's cool they have a hands-on section for kids to explore... And, they're expanding the aquarium area significantly in the near future. We end our visit in the reading area where there's plenty of educational children's books about animals and such.

Tyler Tyree

Aquarium a little small buy the butterfly house was a must see

Joey Cazanova WOW ENTERTAINMENT

Yes yes yes take your kids to the Butterfly House! there is also an aquarium in the front room for you to see all sorts of cool things that you will never see unless you go to the ocean! the little guys and ladies can wash their hands and reach in and even touch some of the ocean life. There is a friendly helpful staff there to help everybody. The Butterfly House is so cool to walk through! It is a sanctuary for butterflies too feel comfortable around people so they are all over you the whole time you're in there. We have a two and a half year old that we take their more than once a week because it's her favorite place in Sioux Falls.

nate croatt

This is a great family fun place! There are so many neat things for kids to do and see.

Dalton Nielsen

Soo coooool

Edie Cole

So much fun! Definitely an experience with the time and cost in Sioux Falls.

Ken Reed

Many butterflies with a small but nice aquarium.

Lisa Necastro

The small aquarium is great, but the butterfly experience is amazing! We are so glad we visited!

Lucy Heartfelia

Great place to take your kids they have cool hands on experiences with all kinds of sea creatures

Stadiume Hott

Truly lovely place. I heavily recommend anyone go here.

jennifer cwach

There was so much to do and our 3 year old loved it!

Aaron Boone

Good place, not really my thing

Karen Kuhn

Neat place to see. The hands on experience was super interesting.

Heather Anne

Great and educational place for kids and adults alike!

Roger Goosen

Very educational. Great place

Pixie Wings

Friendly staff, a great place to really be up close with nature. My daughter was here for a visit from out if state and she had the best time in the bubble bell and even got to pet a stingray.

Burgandy Figueroa

Expensive but still love the butterflies and wish there was more fish. Or something birds

Laramie Haveln

Great way to kill a Saturday afternoon with the family. Educational and entertaining, fun for the entire family.

Eli Koppenhaver

Very cool place! The little red butterfly feeder they rent you for $3 is very worth it!

chris matson

Great place for the whole family as long as they're okay with butterflies landing on them!

Michael Meixner

Wonderful place to reflect on the beauty of God's creation.

Athena Williams

I liked the butterflies and the stingrays. Getting the flower was totally worth the $3. Highly recommended.

Pete Kleinjan

Fun place to visit, especially when it is cold outside. Butterfly area stays quite warm.

Jemi Boye-Okit

OK for a quick tour or for kids and beginners to learn about butterflies. One could purchase little handheld floral sticks were then sprayed with nector and attracted butterflies as one walked inside the greenhouse - that was cool!

Susan Brackett

The humid butterfly area was balanced by the cooler aquarium sections. Friendly & informative docents.

Steve Miller

We attended the Butterfly House for my daughter's birthday. Frankly, I was expecting something for taking my family there for the occasion... boy, was I wrong. Not only did we receive not so much as a "Happy birthday!", we were charged extra, because on that day, she moved up an age class! I haven't gone back.... we won't go back... ever! Nice work... a little customer service goes a long ways especially with all the entertainment options to choose from in Sioux Falls.

Greg Hanks

The Butterflies were awesome & I learned so much about them and the moths. They have beautiful marine life exhibits & it was so cool to pet the stingrays. There is also a paved walking trail through the woods that was relaxing.

Jerry Thompson

I could probably stop by the butterfly house every time I go to Sioux falls it is kinda relaxing sitting on the bench and looking at the different colors of butterflies.

Donald Ferguson

This is a great place to teach your kids or even your self about butterflies and assortments of different fish and sea life. Plus they have all sorts of souvenirs

Justin Ehrman

It's a great place for kids! Very educational. Can't wait for the big expansion! It's going to be awesome!

Jena Slinde

My kids and I absolutely LOVE this place. It's quite unique in the fact that there is an atrium AND aquarium with stingrays you can touch. We've been here 3 x so far and will be back. Oh and the staff are nice, too.

LaVonne Benson

It's always a great place especially in January in South Dakota. I'd have sat all afternoon but we were celebrating my 3 year old grandson birthday and he was too excited about getting to go open PRESENTS! I'M going back alone.

Richelle Squires

We had so much fun here. They have a couple of touch ponds that allow you to get up close with some of the sea life. The aquarium is well maintained. The butterfly garden is so cool. *pay the extra for a nectar flower butterfly feeder. Makes for an upclose experience. Watch for turtles too!

Faith Lippert

It's a fantastic place for kids to see fish and butterflies they might never see up close.

navi legion

My two year old loved it. More for the aquarium but. Its good family fun

Angie Benavente

Its beautiful with lovely people willing to answer every question and full of information.

Samantha Garza

Employees were friendly and informative. My son was afraid to touch any of the animals in the aquarium until one of the employees started telling him about the starfish. Butterfly house was amazing. We really enjoyed feeding the butterflies and identifying them with the papers provided. Aquarium was VERY small wouldn’t really call it an aquarium. Didn’t realize until after I got back to my hotel and looked up prices online that I got charged for my son who should’ve been free

Brogaty

Staff are beyond nice, informative, and sweet. The aquariums are amazing to see and great for children. They have a pool where you can touch starfish, sea urchins, and even stingray. The butterfly house is probably the best part personally. If you get the nectar flower, you can have butterflies land and sit for (in my case) nearly an hour with you. Highly recommended, and they are completely worth donating to if you absolutely love nature and helping them protect butterflies!

SoDak Gaming

Fun and peaceful place to bring your family.

John Hamman

Awesome place to bring your kiddos or just to visit yourself. Their staff members were great here and highly knowledgeable and willing to answer any questions, or interact with kids and adults. My kids love to see the aquatics section, featuring sting rays, exotic fish, and some touch and feel exibits. I personally loved the butterfly house portion. Their overall design of the space allows you to get lost in the vibrant colors and calming sounds of the plants, water features, and decor found in the large room. There are plenty of places to sit throughout the building as a whole but I feel that I was able to make an extended stop around the colorful winged bugs! This place is great for families to visit and I feel would also be great for small-medium sized field trips, as the lifecycles and educational focuses of butterfly and aquatic creatures and shown throughout. Overall the price is right for this place and what you get to see and do (not including any gift shop prices) and my family and I have returned on many occasions!

Nathan Sandberg

A magical garden 12 months round. Take your time and you will have an amazing time.

Kathy Wire

Beautiful; enjoyed the water creatures and the butterflies. Nice (free) gazebo area with many jungle gyms around it.

Austin Maetzig

Had the most romantic and wonderful time here with my boyfriend. The butterflies were spectacular

LeClara Gilreath

Completely awesome! You can see a variety of fish in the area, and touch a sting ray. Then you can also feed butterflies!

Anna Beam

Very disappointed. Went with my family of a variety of age groups just to see the gift shop was bigger than the aquarium itself. Not at all even comparable to any aquariums I have been to in the past. Butterfly garden was nice but just doesn’t pay. Personally Will not go again. Maybe better for kids if they are very young and want a faster attraction.

Adam Kriz

Was an awsome place to go great service could use a few more exhibits tho

Janet Hanson

This was my first visit since the addition of the aquarium. It was fascinating watching the jellyfish and stingray. The staff were excited and happy to explain facts about each tank. She answered questions with knowledge. Inside the butterfly enclosure, it was fun watching the butterflys fly and eat. I liked the little information signs along the pathways too. Button quail were a fun addition.

Robyn Silver

A fun place for the young and young at heart..

Anastacia Jensen

My kiddos LOVE this place! We got the family year around pass and it's been the best purchase! You can pet stingrays and sea urchins and sea cucumbers and starfish. Great place, nice friendly and educational staff too.

Chris Connell

Lots to see and doesn't cost that much to get in compared to many I've visited.

Alexis Althar

Very nice, super small though....doesnt take long to go through. Quite a few hands on petting opportunities in the aquarium portion and can feed the butterflies. Lady said they have 500-1,000 butterflies in butterfly house.

Brandy Mckay

Loved this place, Took the kids here and they thoroughly enjoyed all the activities and running around exploring. We will come back

Roxanne Hagberg

This place was better than I thought it would be. You can touch starfish, sea cucumbers & urchins. There are 3 different aquariums of jellyfish which are cool to see. They have an aquarium where kids can go under and end up with a peek out spot inside the aquarium. There are a ton of butterflies and the gardens are beautiful. All the staff were very friendly and informative. My only complaint is that it is hot in the butterfly area.

Trish Groendyk

The aquarium was very interesting, especially the pregnant Sea Horses. The butterfly garden was beautiful.

Darci Ridge

Beautiful place, friendly workers and thanks for a beautiful place to have to visit. Keep up the good work. .

lizzie a

It was overall an “okay” experience. I came with my mother and my grandma for a small stop. It was pretty busy when we came. First, we visited the aquarium. We’ve been to some large aquariums before but I’ll be honest, it was tiny. There were just a few interactive spots with some stingray, starfish, and a sea slug. The butterflies made up for the boring aquarium. There were many beautiful butterflies flying around. We purchased one flower that supposedly attracts the butterflies, but we only got a glimpse of one. The staff looked very unimpressed and unhappy. It might be fun for smaller children who want a fun small hour of play, but otherwise, I wouldn’t go there again.

Christopher Erickson

Would be more fun if you had a child with.

Shawna Kubik

You can touch the sting rays and it liked my husband, hahaha, everytime he would put his hand in the tank it would turn around and rub his hand. This is a very cool place to visit.

Emily Schultze

My 2 year old had fun here. Not sure that it's worth the ~$25 it cost for our family of 3, though. One small aquarium area + a large room with butterflies.