Sioux Falls Zoo and Aquarium breaks ground on new butterfly garden

Oct. 21, 2025

The first phase of construction is underway at the Sioux Falls Zoo and Aquarium, with a groundbreaking for the future butterfly garden.

It will be located inside the main building of the Great Plains Zoo and relocate the butterfly house operation from Sertoma Park.

“Today is a momentous occasion for us,” said Becky Dewitz, CEO of the Sioux Falls Zoo & Aquarium. “We could not be doing this without the generosity of our community.”

The overall project, which includes a new aquarium and the Joe H. Floyd Education Center, was kicked off with a $25 million donation from Denny Sanford that requires a fundraising match.

“People want this to happen,” Dewitz said, adding “we’re well on our way” to matching the lead gift.

“Dream big and we find a way to make it happen.”

More than 100 community members also have volunteered to help in the fundraising campaign.

Construction of the butterfly garden will occur over the next year, with a projected grand opening in late 2026 or early 2027. Hausmann Construction is the construction manager while Advise to Build is providing consulting services. JLG Architects designed the building and SH|R Studios, a planning and design firm specializing in zoos and aquariums, designed the exhibits.

The city’s current butterfly house, at Sertoma Park, opened as the Sertoma Butterfly House in 2002 and has drawn more than 1 million visitors. An aquarium was added in 2011.

It’s all happened in “a building that wasn’t meant to do everything it does,” said Audrey Otto-Pepper, who led the butterfly house and aquarium and became COO after it merged with the zoo in 2023.

“The Butterfly House has meant so much to so many people” she said. “We’re going to create even more memories and an even more beautiful experience.”

Markers in memory of visitors’ loved ones will be moved from the current butterfly house to the new garden.

“Butterflies are a symbol of new life and of metamorphosis, and we as an organization are going through our own metamorphosis,” Otto-Pepper said.

The butterfly garden will span about 5,000 square feet and create a different exterior look for the campus. Its glass enclosure also will tie into the entry to the outdoor exhibits.

 

A central feature called The Lantern will become a place to sit or host a small event, similar to a gazebo.

A water feature inspired by Falls Park will be made out of Sioux quartzite with water spilling into a koi pond, and a focal point at the end of the garden, the tree of life, will be a steel sculptural tree with living vines on it that will light up at night.

Visitors will be able to feed the butterflies and view a lab where caretakers are growing the collection through the life cycle.

The project is part of a 15-year plan to reimagine the entire zoo campus.

“What we are really creating is a mission-focused experience,” Dewitz said. “It will be a destination.”

The approximately 12,000-square-foot education center is scheduled to break ground in the spring of 2026, with the 35,000-square-foot aquarium following in the summer. Both would open in 2028.

Zoo shares design updates, plans to start butterfly garden this fall