Best Kids' Thrill

It could be debated what thrill at Butterfly World is the best for kids. Is it simply the thousands of butterflies -- including blue cyrbias, black and red piano keys, traditional orange monarchs, and more than 100 other species -- that flutter about? Or is it the hummingbird section? That's where a purple honeycreeper, its beauty made invisible by its mad rush, whirs by with a hectic flutter that fills the ear. Or would it be the insectarium? There, encased Papua New Guinean grasshoppers the size of mice, huge black beetles with menacing horns, and walking stick insects from Malaysia have the power to captivate any child's imagination. Don't even mention the swinging bridge, which is a smaller replica of one crossing the Toachi River in Ecuador; or the simulated rain forest, complete with rain showers and mist; or the Secret Garden of vines; or the butterfly emerging area, where, under glass, butterfly pupae in all phases of development can be seen. Butterfly World boasts that it's the only place of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. It's certainly one of the unique delights of South Florida -- and kids aren't the only ones who find thrills there.