March Break at the Space for Life - Behind-the-Scenes Rally at the Biodôme/Butterflies Go Free at the Botanical Garden!

MONTREAL, Feb. 28, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - March Break means freedom, and at the Biodôme we're taking the opportunity to say anything goes! From March 3 to 11, the Space for Life is unlocking the doors and inviting young people and their families to venture behind the scenes at the Biodôme to explore some spaces normally off limits to the public. The Behind-the-Scenes Rally will take you on a trek to 15 different stations to see and learn how we take care of the health of the ecosystems and their inhabitants. You'll get to visit the veterinary clinic, the animal kitchen and the laboratories and learn all kinds of secrets. To add to the fun, over at the Botanical Garden, the fabulous Butterflies Go Free event on the theme of butterflies and moths features not one, but two greenhouses full of more than 2,000 winged wonders!

What's hidden behind the scenes?
What do the parrots and monkeys eat? Where do we prepare the food? What happens during a medical check-up for a sloth? What do the divers do in the Gulf of St. Lawrence basin? Did you know that we've introduced predator insects in some of the ecosystems to control insect pests?

The Behind-the-Scenes Rally will answer all these questions and lots more! This very special tour takes visitors through the Biodôme's ecosystems to peek behind some locked doors. It's a hive of activity, where experts are hard at work maintaining the health of the Biodôme's residents and their living quarters, while others conduct research into biodiversity. Drop into the veterinary clinic and see how the staff cares for an amazing variety of animals. Near the basin, our divers will talk about their underwater work - a fascinating and very unusual job!

Butterflies and moths
The scientific evidence is undeniable: moths evolved first, then butterflies. Other than the fact that they're active at different times, how can you tell them apart? During Butterflies Go Free, come talk to the nature interpreters from the Insectarium and admire over 2,000 butterflies and moths flitting about in the Main Exhibition Greenhouse and the Fern Greenhouse, and find out!

The Behind-the-Scenes Rally is on from March 3 to 11, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Access behind the scenes from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Butterflies Go Free runs from February 16 to April 29.
Take advantage of our "Nature Package" (Biodôme & Botanical Garden & Insectarium): from $49 for a family of 2 adults and 3 children, with an Accès Montréal card.

The Biodôme, Insectarium, Botanical Garden and Planetarium are launching a daring, creative urban movement, urging everyone to rethink the bonds between humankind and nature.
The Space for Life is also a place where people come together to create and to cultivate a new way of living, shaped by Montrealers and people from around the world.

Nadine Fortin, Communications Co-ordinator
514 868-3053/514 250-7753
[email protected]

Anik Robichaud-Gauvin, Marketing Representative
514 868-3123
[email protected]