Bright smiles flashed across young faces as tagged Monarchs and Common Buckeyes fluttered about, landing on fingertips and flowers.
About 6,000 attended the ButterlfyFest at the Florida Museum of Natural History on Sunday, which was dedicated to increasing awareness of Florida's butterflies.
The weekendlong event included take-away arts and crafts, informative workshops on butterfly rearing and presentations on conservation.
Amy Brote, a festival volunteer, walked around with giant butterfly wings and face paint, spending her Sunday afternoon asking kids and families questions about pollinators.
"Most of the time it's just messing with them and getting the kids to smile," she said.
This is her fourth year as a volunteer, and she said she noticed a couple hundred more festival attendees than last year. She said the change was probably because the festival has adapted really well since its move three years ago from the back of the Harn to the front parking lot.
The festival now includes an indoor area for arts and crafts, which helps with the heat and allows kids to play and parents to rest, she said.
There was more entertainment for kids overall, which included live animals, bounce houses and free juggling lessons from Objects in Motion, a UF student group.
After trying his hand at juggling, Zane Boldrick, 4, dressed in a bat mask and wings, said his favorite thing was the arts and crafts.
Jeff Hansen, the Vivarium assistant manager, said he hopes to make the ButterflyFest a self-sustaining event in the coming years. There were a lot of different vendors and a changed strategy with plant sales, he said.
"We went from large to small plants that are more affordable due to the economy."
Small plants, which ranged in price from $3 to $15, generated about $9,000 alone, Hansen said. The most popular items included the butterfly bush, sweet almond bush and pagoda plant, which were all sold out.
"We've had to reduce a lot in the past," he said, "but we're growing in bits and pieces. This year definitely felt like a festival."
