Hundreds of free-roaming spiders are once again crawling through an open-air path at the Butterfly Pavilion, where visitors can walk among orb weavers with no glass or barriers separating them from the arachnids overhead. The annual Spider Zone exhibit has returned for October, and this year it's joined by a brand-new companion exhibit built around some of the animal kingdom's most venomous creatures.
According to the Denver Gazette, the Spider Zone features hundreds of orb-weaving and other free-roaming spiders along an open path with no enclosures separating guests from the eight-legged residents. The outlet reports the experience is included with general admission to the Butterfly Pavilion, and that it's designed to give both kids and adults a chance to confront their arachnophobia head-on. The pavilion's own site echoes that pitch, describing the Spider Zone as an exotic enclosure filled with hundreds of free-roaming orb-weaving spiders, according to Butterfly Pavilion.
The Denver Gazette's report places the exhibit at the nature center in Broomfield, while the Butterfly Pavilion's own website lists its address as 6252 W. 104th Ave. in Westminster. Either way, the venue sits roughly 15 minutes from downtown Denver off Highway 36 at 104th Avenue, per the pavilion's site.
New Exhibit Spotlights Nature's Toxic Survivors
Alongside the returning spider display, the pavilion has debuted Toxic Terrors for the month of October. The new exhibit explores how invertebrates use toxins to capture prey, outsmart predators and survive some of the world's harshest conditions, the station's report notes. Visitors can get a close look at a Deathstalker Scorpion, a Giant Vietnamese Centipede, a Togo Starburst Tarantula and Sea Nettles, all featured in the lineup.
Interactive displays and signage throughout Toxic Terrors walk guests through each creature's design and mechanics, its environment, and its hunting habits, per the same account. The pavilion frames the exhibit as part of a broader mission: teaching visitors about the design behind nature's deadliest tools rather than simply gawking at them.
A Theme With Roots in Past Programming
Toxic Terrors isn't an entirely new idea for the pavilion. The theme traces back to last year's Bugtober, the organization's monthlong Halloween-season celebration, according to Butterfly Pavilion. The pavilion has said its goal as educators is to help people discover just how fantastic — and not terrifying — these animals actually are, a mission that has shaped its October programming for years.
That approach dates back further still. In 2024, the pavilion's Halloween exhibit showcased exotic arthropods specifically to educate visitors and reduce the stigma around creepy-crawly critters, as reported by Daily Camera. That year's Spider Zone stretched 80 feet and introduced a giant Malaysian orb weaver alongside a six-eyed sand spider and an Amazon blue bloom tarantula, running through Halloween.
Last Year's Spiders Came From Around the Globe
The 2025 iteration of the Spider Zone let guests walk among hundreds of web weavers without glass barriers in a display that started in late September and ran through Halloween, according to the Colorado Sun. Those spiders were orb weavers common across the Americas as well as Asia, Africa and Australia, the outlet reported. One notable change came for the pavilion's giant tarantula Rosie, who retired from handling duties on Sept. 8, 2025, and has since lived in a glass-enclosed habitat after showing signs of fatigue.
The Butterfly Pavilion is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with timed entry, according to the organization's website. For a close encounter with free-roaming spiders or a first look at a Deathstalker Scorpion, this October's pairing of exhibits offers Front Range visitors two reasons to walk the pavilion's paths before Halloween arrives.
