Butterfly House & Aquarium, Great Plains Zoo to consider combining

 Nov. 30, 2021

The Butterfly House & Aquarium and Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History might be joining forces.

The boards of both organizations have approved entering formal discussions to determine whether it makes sense to combine.

They recently have been collaborating around conservation, education, membership and marketing.

“The synergy between our two organizations has brought us together through our shared mission work and into a broader conversation about mission impact in our community,” said Audrey Otto, CEO of Butterfly House & Aquarium, in a statement.

The zoo’s roots go back to a private collection in the 1880s owned by Sen. Richard F. Pettigrew. In 1930, the Sioux Falls parks system assumed responsibility for zoo development and added additional specimens for permanent display in Sherman Park, south of the zoo’s current location at 805 S. Kiwanis Ave.

The Butterfly House & Aquarium started as a butterfly conservatory in 2002 at 4320 S. Oxbow Ave. In 2010, a group of aquarium hobbyists brought forward the idea of adding an aquarium.

While both organizations rely on membership funding and donations, the zoo has regularly received funding from the city of Sioux Falls in the past while the Butterfly House has not gotten funding until recently.

Both organizations are in the middle of capital campaigns. The zoo is working on one to bring back a lion exhibit, while the Butterfly House & Aquarium brought forward a $7.5 million campaign to expand and renovate its facilities nearly three years ago. At that time, half of it had been raised.

A joint exploration committee will be working with a consultant to determine whether to recommend the organizations combine. The process was endorsed by Mayor Paul TenHaken, who held a joint announcement with the organizations today at City Hall.

“We will use our like missions as our guide star for this exploratory process, helping us determine how we can best serve our community, staff and animals in our care,” said Becky Dewitz, CEO of the Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History.

Through a grant from the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation, the organizations have hired national consulting firm Zoo Advisors to consider the operational feasibility and potential economic impact if a formal partnership would be established.

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Butterfly House & Aquarium, Great Plains Zoo to consider combining

The Butterfly House & Aquarium and Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum of Natural History might be joining forces.

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