MUSKOGEE, Okla. — A one-of-a-kind Muskogee experience opens this weekend for the season and is free for Moms to check out.
The Papilion in Honor Heights Park is home to hundreds of butterflies. More than a dozen students from Rougher Alternative Academy got a sneak peek on Friday, as they helped release the butterflies for the season.
WATCH: Muskogee Butterfly House free for Moms on Mother's Day
"We came and planted flowers. We just really like giving back to our community," said student Jomontae Alexander.
Alexander and his friends know about transformations. "We came up a few times to pick up sticks and trash, you know, just to try and pick up as much as we can to clean up the park a bit," said Audrey Mike, another student.
Over the past few months, Rougher Alternative Academy students have helped at Honor Heights Park. So they were invited back to witness a metamorphosis in the Muskogee sanctuary.
Hundreds of winged wonders are now calling The Papilion home, and the season is just starting. "We host about three to five thousand butterflies each summer out here," said Michelle Olshen, Assistant Operations Manager at Honor Heights Park.
This open-air butterfly house and teaching garden is home to Oklahoma plants and a rainbow of butterflies.
"We get live butterflies, we get chrysalis, we do educational programs out here with children, and they get to learn all about it from a science perspective. Such as how the butterflies form in their chrysalis, how they emerge, and their whole life cycle. It is just a beautiful place," said Olshen.
The house provides an up-close and personal view. Visitors aren't supposed to pick the butterflies up, but we found these friendly creatures landed on us, often.
"They're very curious creatures. It's really awesome to watch them on the flowers, so if you go up close to them and take tons of pictures, because they are spectacular," said Olshen.
Butterflies thrive in warm, sunny weather, and the Master Gardeners say the best time to visit is in the afternoon heat. Olshen said, "They'll tend to come down closer to people in the late afternoon when it gets warm and they'll fly much lower."
Upon witnessing the start of the season, I noticed that the students were flying high. They said they were grateful to have the Butterfly House in their hometown and proud to have helped.
"It's amazing," said Alexander. "They can come and look at the beautiful flowers we planted, take pictures, and these butterflies will grow and flourish around the flowers. It makes me feel happy about myself and about here," said Mike.
Admission is usually $3 for Adults and $2 for Seniors and Children. However, admission is free on Saturday, May 10, during the Craft and Garden Market. Moms will also get in for free on Sunday, May 11, on Mother's Day.
You can learn more about The Papilion at Honor Heights Park here.
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