Happy Halloween!

We thought the butterflies (and our museum guests) would enjoy a little Halloween decor, so we added a few pumpkins to the Flight Encounter Exhibit…

Fun, right? Our pumpkins were created by our incredibly talented head curator, Kristen, who made them using a technique known as “surface carving”, in which only the tough outer skin of the pumpkin is removed. This is a relatively mess-free way to carve pumpkins, and they generally last longer than a traditionally carved pumpkin too.

Butterflies enjoy having the pumpkins around as much as we do. Many butterflies love to eat the rotting flesh of fruits, and pumpkins are no exception. After the holiday, we’ll open up the pumpkins to let the butterflies have access to the gooey insides. We’ll also salvage the seeds and put them out to feed the birds. Any leftover pumpkin can be composted down to add nutrients to the soil.

  
Happy Halloween from the butterflies and their keepers here in Tampa!