For butterfly lovers (Part 3)

A cliff hanger... in Scarborough Bluffs

This is Part 3 of a summer long project (in four parts) inspired by Flight of the Butterflies, currently playing at the Ontario Science Centre’s until Labour Day weekend!

The Imax movie Flight of the Butterflies opens with a scene filmed up the cliffs off Scarborough Bluffs. 

I’ve explored the area thoroughly when doing research for my guide Toronto Fun Places and recognized Scarborough Bluffs Park. Your kids might like to visit this location “from the movie” during the summer. 

I’ve often seen monarchs frolicking at the end of the summer in this park.

Also read:

For butterfly lovers (Part 1)

(About the movie)

For butterfly lovers (Part 2)

(About butterfly gardens)

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Follow the guide to Kensington Market

This is a free excerpt from my other guide Toronto Urban Strolls... for girlfriends 1. Even though it was not written with kids in mind, many of the Toronto walks in my two walking guides will appeal to bigger kids.

Sonic coffe shop on Cecil Street

KENSINGTON Truly Eclectic Stroll is the kind of stroll which will appeal to preteens and teenagers, because of the vibe, the people watching and the food. This is my go-to stroll when I have visitors who have a taste for funky places. 

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An author on a mission

It will happen to you too!

My little blond guy (who used to accompany me to do research for my guide) is now a 6-foot musician, and my baby girl has turned into a mini version of myself at 16 (but much cuter). And you know what? It will happen to you too!

My wish is for my guide Toronto Fun Places to inspire you to steal some time now and then from your busy schedule to enjoy the ride with your friends and family. believe me, those are the moments that will stick with you for years to come.

Have fun with your loved one!

Nathalie Prezeau

Author/photographer/publisher

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For butterfly lovers (Part 2)

About butterfly gardens

This is Part 2 of a summer long project (in four parts) inspired by Flight of Butterflies currently playing at the Ontario Science Centre’s until Labour Day weekend! 

One stroke of genius in Flight of Butterflies, the Imax movie about the monarchs migration, was to present a colourful butterfly garden set in Toronto’s suburbs as a most welcome stop for the tired travelling butterflies. 

I had underestimated the value of such gardens, filled with milkweed and nectar flowers, in the life cycle of monarchs. Now I think differently and it seems to me that after seeing the movie, many kids will want to help their parents create such a garden in the family backyard or the community garden. 

Don’t wait too long to see Flight of the Butterflies if you want to have time to plant!

Montreal’s Botanical Garden offers an excellent online resource to start such a garden.

To be continued in Part 3...

For butterfly lovers (Part 3)

(Scarborough Bluffs)

Also read:

For butterfly lovers (Part 1)
(About the movie)

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For butterfly lovers (Part 4)

About butterfly tagging

This is Part 4 of a summer long project (in four parts) inspired by Flight of Butterflies, currently playing at the Ontario Science Centre’s until Labour Day weekend! 

If you've not seen the film yet, there's still time before Presqu'ile Provincial Park's annual Monarchs and Migrants Weekend (Saturday and Sunday on Labour Day weekend), hopefully your summer’s grand finale. 

After you’ve seen the movie and got the kids all excited about monarchs and the idea of holding a butterfly in their hands, tell them that you know exactly the place and time when they’ll be able to try this themselves and help with the research (now running under the name Monarch Watch).

The year we showed up for the Monarchs and Migrants Weekend was declared a bad one because it was so windy. Well, if this was a bad year, I wonder what a good year would look like! There were plenty of them in the bushes around the light house and everyone present got the chance to tag a butterfly. 

Spoiler alert! 

One very interesting thing we learned about monarchs migration in the Imax movie is that the butterflies we tag at the end of the summer are not the same as the fragile insects who would leave orange dust on my fingers when I tried to touch them in the summers of my youth.

Those born at the end of the summer are “super butterflies”, very sturdy, with strong feet sticking to our hands. They live longer. So don't worry, these butterflies won’t get hurt from being handled by your little scientists. All they need to de is listen to the instructions from the volunteers on site!

Also read:

For butterfly lovers (Part 1)

(About the movie)

For butterfly lovers (Part 2)

(About butterfly gardens)

For butterfly lovers (Part 3)

(Scarborough Bluffs)

Note that weather allowing, volunteers also bag migrant birds during the Monarchs and Migrants Weekend.

While you're there

We brought a picnic (there were many spots by the water). We walked on the long boardwalk through the marsh. We did a trail through a forest in another part of the park (see the Presqu'ile Provincial Park link on my website). 

I saw many families riding their bike through the forest (there's a bike lane painted on the road).

On our way back, we drove through Kingston Highway and stopped to by some apples along Highway 2.

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For butterfly lovers (Part 1)

The Imax movie Flight of the Butterflies

Were you the kind of kid to chase butterflies during your childhood? Then you might want to read about this summer long project (in four parts) inspired by the monarchs movie currently playing at the Ontario Science Centre’s until Labour Day weekend! 

A couple of years ago, I finally got to visit Presqu’ile Provincial Park with a friend and our two teens during their annual Monarchs & Migrants Weekend, an event involving monarchs tagging which always takes place on Labour Day Weekend. 

Wondering what this has to do with the movie Flight of the Butterflies ? Now that I have seen it, I know for a fact that taking your kids to see the Imax film now will greatly enhance your family's experience at Presqu'ile on Labour Day weekend! 

We were all so thrilled by the opportunity to tag beautiful monarchs during this event that I want to entice you to consider it this year as a “grand finale” activity at the end of your summer. 

About the movie 

I don’t want to say too much about what we learn in the Imax documentary. It would spoil the fun of discovering the marvels of monarchs migration through the story of Canadian zoologist Frederick Urquhart’s journey. He is the one who developed the butterfly tagging system and got the answer to a very good question: Where do the butterflies go for the winter?

Fred Urquhart in National Geographic, 1976

If you’re too curious, visit this link for an excellent summary of Flight of the Butterflies, but resist spilling the beans to your kids! 

Allow them the pleasure of seeing the mystery unfold through the eyes of a scientist (a fantastic story of perseverance and human passion spreading over 40 years) and through the adventures of Dana the butterfly. 

Expect fantastic panoramas of green and blue hues with splashes of orange, and 150-foot wide butterflies filling the giant screen. 

The movie is truly relevant to Torontonians as it features scenes shot at the Scarborough Bluffs, in Toronto’s suburbs and over the CN Tower.

About Ontario Science Centre
General information: Ontario Science Centre
Movie: Flight of the Butterflies hours (book your ticket online at no extra charge to secure your seats!)
Current exhibition: Game On 2.0, until September
(I've seen many dads glued to a video game from the 80's!)
Membership: If you want to visit more than once, I strongly recommend you get a $130 family membership (good for free admission for a year for 2 adults and up to 4 kids, and members pay only $5 for parking).


To be continued in Part 2...

For butterfly lovers (Part 2)

(About butterfly gardens)
For butterfly lovers (Part 3)

(Scarborough Bluffs)

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Woofstock this weekend!

The family outing suggestion this week 
on torontofunplaces.com

Woofstock, June 8 and 9, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. around St. Lawrence Market and St. James Park.

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