Butterfly House to Close Sertoma Park Campus

The Sioux Falls facility will shut its Sertoma Park campus after January 3, 2027, as a new Butterfly Garden opens at the zoo.

Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Openings & Closings

Wide view of a modest glass greenhouse on a flat prairie edge under a pale winter sky, with dry grasses in the foreground. — The Butterfly House & Aquarium will close its Sertoma Park campus to the public after January 3, 2027, ending more than 25 years in Sioux Falls as butterflies move to a new zoo garden. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Do you plan to visit a local family attraction this winter?

The Butterfly House & Aquarium will close its Sertoma Park campus to the public after January 3, 2027, following more than 25 years of operation since opening in 2002. The facility has hosted over 1.6 million guests, and a farewell season of events and admission discounts is underway.

Why it matters

The closure moves the Butterfly House's exhibits to a new home, with the Sioux Falls Zoo & Aquarium opening a Butterfly Garden in early 2027. The shift keeps butterfly programming in the city while ending the Sertoma Park location.

The Butterfly House & Aquarium has hosted over 1.6 million guests since opening in 2002, a run of about 25 years. The total visitor count is the only figure available, and the extraction does not provide annual attendance or the expected size of the new zoo garden.

The players

Sioux Falls Zoo & Aquarium

The Sioux Falls Zoo & Aquarium is the city's zoo, which will open a new Butterfly Garden at its facility in early 2027.

Butterfly House & Aquarium

The Butterfly House & Aquarium is a Sioux Falls facility that opened in 2002 and has welcomed over 1.6 million guests during its operation.

The details

Admission discounts are being offered to service groups, volunteers, and others who contributed to the facility during its farewell season. The Sertoma Park building will serve as a staff-only satellite location during construction, while the aquariums remain in place until they are moved to the future aquarium. Butterflies at Sertoma Park will live out their natural life cycles, and new chrysalises will hatch at the new Butterfly Garden.

Dec. 3-5: Twilight Flights farewell event
Dec. 19-20: Early access for Zoo & Aquarium Monarch members
Dec. 30: Butterfly House & Aquarium 25th birthday celebration
Jan. 2-3: Final Flights before closure
January 3, 2027: Sertoma Park campus closes to the public

Market Landscape

The Butterfly House & Aquarium's 25-year run and its 1.6 million visitors form the base for the closure, which shifts its butterfly exhibits to a Sioux Falls Zoo & Aquarium garden. The move consolidates the city's animal attractions under the zoo's existing campus.

Residents who want to see butterflies will need to visit the zoo's new Butterfly Garden after the Sertoma Park campus closes. Visitors planning a trip should note the final Sertoma Park dates in December and early January.

The takeaway

Residents who have visited the Sertoma Park location have until January 3, 2027, to make final trips before the campus closes, with the butterflies' new home set to open at the zoo in early 2027.

What happens next

The new Butterfly Garden at the Sioux Falls Zoo & Aquarium is expected to open in early 2027, and the Sertoma Park campus closes to the public on January 3, 2027.