Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center
Encyclopedia
Callaway Gardens
Callaway Gardens is a resort complex located in Pine Mountain, Georgia, just outside of Columbus, Georgia. The resort draws over 750,000 visitors annually....
in Pine Mountain, Georgia. It is North America's largest, glass-enclosed tropical conservatory
Conservatory (greenhouse)
A conservatory is a room having glass roof and walls, typically attached to a house on only one side, used as a greenhouse or a sunroom...
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The center was named in honor of Cecil B. Day
Cecil B. Day
Cecil Burke Day was the founder of Days Inn Hotels. Day studied at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, but withdrew prior to graduation to join the United States Marine Corps...
, a Christian philanthropist and the founder of Days Inn
Days Inn
Days Inn is a motel chain headquartered in the United States. Founded in 1970, it is now a part of the Wyndham Hotel Group, based in Parsippany, New Jersey, which was formerly a part of Cendant...
. His wife, Deen Day Sanders, donated artwork and financial assistance to Callaway Gardens
Callaway Gardens
Callaway Gardens is a resort complex located in Pine Mountain, Georgia, just outside of Columbus, Georgia. The resort draws over 750,000 visitors annually....
in his honor.
Opening in 1988, the center houses over a thousand butterflies of over fifty different species. There is a theater room that continuously plays the film Wings of Wonder, an award-winning documentary that examines the life-cycle of a butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
.
The center has received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification award which indicates that the building was designed, constructed, and is maintained in ways that are environmentally friendly.