COMING 2024
Guests fluttered over to San Antonio Zoo for the 8th Annual Monarch Fest, a two-day festival celebrating all things monarchs, milkweed, and migration! On March 25 & March 26, guests enjoyed plant chats, seed giveaways, story times, memorable characters, and so much more.
Guests of all ages participated in educational games, crafts and learned how to help save the monarch butterfly population.
Schedule of Events
Cowboy Photo Op – 9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. – Great Lawn
Seed Giveaway (Limit 250) – 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. – Great Lawn
Plant Chat – 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m – Great Lawn
Monarch Practice Tagging – 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m – Great Lawn
- Guests grabbed a butterfly net to catch butterflies made of laminated paper. They learned how to properly hold butterflies, and how butterflies are tagged with an identification sticker to track their migration.
Pollinator or Not Game – 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. – Great Lawn
- Guest were shown 10 different animals and were asked to guess which ones act as pollinators, and which are not. They learned that many different animals can act as pollinators not just bees and butterflies.
Monarch Character Photo Op – 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Roaming
Animal Ambassador Presentation – 2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. – Great Lawn
Cowboy Dance Party – 4:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. – Great Lawn
Additional Paid Experiences:
John & Greli Less Butterfly Rainforest – 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. – $4.00 per guest
Project Selva 4D Theater Showing – 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. $6.00 per guest
What is Monarch Fest?
In 2017 the city of San Antonio was named the first Monarch Champion City by the National Wildlife Federation. As a Monarch Champion City, we are dedicated to adopting 24 recommended actions cited by the NWF, and one of those happens to be hosting a festival dedicated to the Monarch butterfly. San Antonio Zoo is helping fulfill one of the 24 actions by hosting the city’s first ever Monarch Fest!
San Antonio Zoo is a member of the Alamo Area Monarch Collaborative a city initiative to conserve the monarch in San Antonio Texas and surrounding areas.
DIY Butterfly Nectar
Help Monarch Butterflies on their adventure by feeding them delicious nectar!
To make your own, you’ll need:
¼ Cup White (granulated) Sugar
1 Cup Water
Recipe:
- In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. Stir in sugar and simmer until dissolved.
- Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Dip the sponge feeder in the syrup until saturated, allowing excess to drop from the sponge.
- Hang your feeder wherever you want to leave a “drink station” for your pollinator friends!
*This recipe is bee, hummingbird, and butterfly friendly! Remember to never add artificial food coloring or dyes to pollinator feeders that might be visited by hummingbirds*
Schedule of Events
9:00 a.m. Zoo Opens
10:00 a.m. Event Begins
10:00 a.m. Education Activities & Butterfly Tagging Activity Begins
11:00 a.m. Chalk Art Station Opens
12:30 p.m. Butterfly Story Time
2:00 p.m. Activities & Event Ends
5:00 p.m. Zoo Closes
MAKE YOUR ZOO VISIT AN ADVENTURE.
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS
Starting at $36 per person
There's always something new to see at the zoo. Each year is packed with events and exciting additions.
PROJECT SELVA 4D THEATER
Tickets for just $5!
The action spills out of the screen over the audience with thrill-enhancing sensory special effects— bubbles, snow, scent, FX lighting, water mist, seat vibrations, and wind.
