CATALYST

On your visit to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, there’s a good chance you’ve heard someone say: “Meet me at the ladybug.” The toddler-fan-favorite Lady Bug, perched on a “leaf” in the Insects and Butterflies exhibition in the first floor Central Atrium, has long been a gathering and play place for young families. Now, we are excited to let our guests know that the space has received a refresh! 

As Tanya Breeling, director of Experiences and Partnerships, explains it, the idea began with a simple question: How might we add a little energy to this heavily trafficked exhibition space without closing it for months?  

“We reached out to staff and collected suggestions on how to enhance the building and the Insects and Butterflies exhibition came up as an appealing opportunity to make a big difference without a huge amount of impact,” said Breeling.  

At the heart of the refresh is a dazzling butterfly case, created from specimens in the Museum’s Treves Collection of rare and beautiful butterflies from across the entire world. Donated in 2022 by mathematics professor and lifelong collector Dr. Jean François Treves, the collection features some of the world’s biggest, boldest and most beautiful butterflies that Treves collected over 40 years of adventurous fieldwork across Venezuela, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and beyond. The butterfly case was originally made for a temporary exhibition “Animals of the Rainforest,” which ran from October 2024 to January 2025.  

“The butterfly case tells the story of a special donation, but it also gives the space a whole new feel,” said Breeling. “Guests loved it, so bringing it into this space was a way to extend that excitement.” 

Read more: Unlocking the Secrets of the Treves Butterfly Collection 

Exhibit Designer Noelia Medina highlighted the collaborative nature of the refresh, noting that she worked closely with Environmental Graphic Designer Patrick Kennedy and Bilingual Experience Developer Natalia de los Santos to ensure a coherent and sustainable design. 

For Medina, the biggest challenge was introducing a new color scheme and more attractive graphics that would blend seamlessly with the existing content: “It was important that the updates coexist harmoniously with what was already in place,” she said. “And we are very proud of the final result!” 

The butterfly case is not the only example of how the Museum is repurposing popular temporary exhibitions. Just around the corner, a rainbow-inspired case from Wild Color continues to dazzle guests with specimens arranged in a spectrum of hues. Nearby, elements from "Mysteries of the Ice Ages" — including a section on the famous Snowmass fossil discovery — have found a new home in Prehistoric Journey, across from the Museum’s Paleo Lab. These creative reuses give the Museum more opportunities to share the beloved stories and collection pieces with our visitors over an extended time period. 

Over the next few years, the Museum is working toward a larger goal: providing fully bilingual content across the first floor, which will include the renovated Gems and Minerals Hall. In the end, the idea is to ensure that Spanish-speaking guests will be able to engage with our content in their native language. 

Read more: Our Gems & Minerals Hall Will Be Completely Renovated, Expanded by 50% 

Breeling emphasized that this work is just one step toward a bigger vision: “Our goal is to create spaces where all of our guests feel included and inspired,” she said. “Refreshing Insects and Butterflies is a small change now, but it’s part of something much larger.”