Butterfly Pavilion allows patrons to hold tarantulas again — just not Rosie

For 30 years, the deal was simple: You go to the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, you walk through the tropical conservatory, you look at the butterflies and then — if you were brave enough — you held Rosie the tarantula. It was a Colorado rite of passage. First-graders did it. Grandparents did it. Grown adults who are terrified of spiders did it specifically so they could post the photo.

Then, last September, Rosie retired. The Butterfly Pavilion announced that their beloved Chilean rose hair tarantulas — who had been crawling across visitors’ palms since the facility opened in 1995 — would no longer be available for public handling. Scientists said older, mature tarantulas live better lives when handled less.

But here’s the good news Colorado parents and field-trip planners have been waiting for: The tarantula-holding experience is back — just with new tarantulas. The Butterfly Pavilion recently launched what it’s calling a “new, up-close and more sustainable experience” featuring other tarantulas in its collection. Rosie, the Pavilion says, has been “passing on her tips” to the next generation of ambassador spiders. Visitors can still walk in, hold a tarantula and conquer their arachnophobia — it’s just not Rosie anymore.

The timing is fitting. July 2026 marks a double celebration: the Butterfly Pavilion’s own 30th anniversary and Rosie’s 30th birthday. The Pavilion — which is the world’s first AZA-accredited nonprofit invertebrate zoo — has been marking the occasion with birthday content on social media, including a TikTok series showing Rosie’s “retired life,” which apparently involves the arts, friends and mentoring. She’s basically the tarantula equivalent of a retiree who moves to Sedona and takes up watercolors.

The Butterfly Pavilion is located at 6252 W. 104th Ave. in Westminster, about 20 minutes from downtown Denver. Admission gets you access to the tropical conservatory with 1,600 free-flying butterflies, interactive invertebrate exhibits, a touch tank and, yes, the chance to hold a tarantula — even if it’s not the one you grew up with.