New Butterfly Wing spreads open at Reiman Gardens

If the cold, snowy weather is already making you wish for spring, then a new addition to the Reiman Gardens at Iowa State University might make you feel better. Reiman Gardens Director Teresa McLaughlin officially opened the 25-hundred square foot “Butterfly Wing” today. She says they have from 800 to one-thousand butterflies from six different continents flying around the wing. McLaughlin says they’re also officially opening a new conservatory today too.she says it’s about five-thousand square feet and is decorated in a fall display with a huge cornucopia. She says the outside of the buildings are just as impressive as the displays inside.The butterfly wing is designed to look just like a butterfly, and the rest of the structure is prairie style with limestone and natural light. McGloughlin says the butterflies will serve a dual purpose.She says the wing will serve as a training ground for students to teach them how to raise butterflies for such facilities. The new facilities will also include a kitchen and gift shop. The eight-year old gardens have already become a tourist attraction, and McLaughlin says the new additions should bring even more people to Ames. She says they had about 75-thousand visitors to the gardens last summer and she says they expect that to eventually reach 200 to 250-thousand visitors annually. The Reiman Gardens are located just south of Jack Trice Stadium.