We have an amazing parks department who goes above and beyond the call of duty to make sure our residents have parks that are not only clean and safe, but also unique and fun. With a couple of family aquatic centers, miles upon miles of walking/biking trail through natural areas, and several botanical gardens full of exotic and native plants, our city tops the list of free things to do for families in our region.

Nestled in one of these beautiful botanical gardens is where you will find the Dr. Bill Roston Native Butterfly House:

Surrounding the butterfly house is a garden full of plants butterflies love:

(If you would like to know what plants our botanical garden keeps for the butterflies, call the number and enter the prompt above. You can find these handy little info stands all around - technology and nature collide!)

There are also many yummy plants inside, where the butterflies make their homes. Baby Wolfe is searching for some now! Coming to the butterfly house is a good exercise in empathy and learning how others care and tend to living things, which he sometimes struggles with because of autism.

Hey, look! There's one!

And another!

How many butterflies can you see on these purple flowers?

Nearby, there is a large structure on which the kids can play. It is a giant butterfly and caterpillar on a leaf. The leaf is a slide!

Of course, if you tire of the butterflies, you can do like Baby Wolfe and @winstonwolfe do when they are waiting on Mommy to take butterfly photos for her Steemit post - just make your own fun!

If you're ever in the Ozarks and looking for a free, fun thing to do with your littles, consider visiting the Dr. Bill Roston Butterfly House in Springfield, MO. Here is a link to their website for a little more information

Thanks for reading!