Butterflies and bubbles among new delights at the Stanislaus County Fair

If the animals being shown at the Stanislaus County Fair get any less oohing and aahing this year, it’s only because there are two new attractions from which parents may have a hard time pulling away their children – and themselves.

One is the Butterfly Discovery Center, which has two components: the Exploratorium and the Flutter Garden. Visitors enter through the Exploratorium, where “we force them to learn a little about butterflies and butterfly preservation,” said Peter Noah, owner of Butterfly Adventures. The exhibit includes information about predators, common California butterflies, how to grow a butterfly garden, the butterfly life cycle and more.

Once visitors have that bit of understanding, the real fun begins. They enter the Flutter Garden, where hundreds of Monarchs and Painted Ladies flit among hanging flower baskets and alight on people as well as the plants. Cotton swabs are provided, to dip into bowls of nectar to feed the butterflies.

During a preview Thursday afternoon, about 80 to 90 Monarchs were in the room, Noah said. His company has about 1,000 butterflies at the fairgrounds and will rotate them in and out, with about 500 in the exhibit at one time. “We’ll be bringing in Painted Ladies, which go lower to the ground and kids really like.” He warned that the ladies have a “tendency to land on the ground, which makes them easy for kids to pick up” but also means it’s important to watch your step.

The butterflies like to “hitch rides” on visitors, too, he said, so everyone is given a once-over at the exit to ensure there are no stowaways on backs, sitting on purses or perched in hair.

You really can’t feel a butterfly sitting on you, as 10-year-old Kate Honsik learned Thursday. While her attention was focused on the butterfly sitting on her hand, friend Albie Borovansky pointed out that another one was on the seat of her pants.

Kate, a former Turlocker back for a visit from Danville, said it was “really cool how the feeding stick acted as a flower.”

The other new attraction is Mind Works, which fair spokeswoman Adrenna Alkhas described as “8,000 square feet of fun for kids – very interactive.”

In an environment both magical and medieval in theme, Mind Works is full of outsized things to do, including giant bubble wands; a large-as-life adaptation of the popular game Operation; a Lego wall; a floor-mat version of Snakes and Ladders, where players act as the game pieces; and Brobdingnagian (gigantic) checkers, tic-tac-toe and Scrabble.

Six-year-old Case West of Ceres was having fun with the Operation game, actually dubbed Gross Anatomy. He’s played the table-top version and said, “this one’s harder, and these (holes holding the patient’s ailments) are kind of small.” He showed the several items he used tongs to remove, but owned up that he’d set off the game buzzer in the process.

The Butterfly Discovery Center replaces the model train display that has been at the fair for several years. Mind Works replaces the Wizard’s Challenge attraction that has been at the fair the past two years. It’s from the same creators.

Another new treat at the fair this year will look appealing to kids, but it’s strictly for adults. From the Turlock Rotary, the folks who brought you beer floats last year, come Buzz Pops. These frozen treats are spiked ice cream bars and ice pops, with alcohol content of about 2 to 3.5 percent. They come in six flavors, among them The Drunken Cookie (cookies and cream ice cream with bourbon), Mijito Madness (lemon and mint sorbet plus rum) and Blitzed Berry (strawberry ice cream plus rum). And if you were a fan of the beer floats, rejoice that they’re back, and with two new flavors: red apple ale and apple pie a la mode.

A bit more on what’s new at the fair this year:

▪ Among rides, there’s just one new one, a carousel, Alkhas said.

▪ Parents – anyone, really – who kick themselves for forgetting sunscreen can thank Doctors Medical Center for dispensers that also offer health and safety reminders.

▪ The Modesto Bee has a selfie booth at the fair with an accompanying contest. Submit your selfie from the booth at www.modbee.com/selfie for a chance to win a GoPro camera and daily prizes, plus one year unlimited digital access to Modesto Bee E-edition. The selfie booth is located in front of the Baby Care Center building by food row.

▪ KAT Country 103 has partnered with the Stanislaus County Fair’s Kids Club program to give away a four-pack of two-day Disneyland tickets to one child who completes the Kids Club passport.

Kids Club members fill out a passport book used to travel around the fairgrounds and answer questions about fair history, math, livestock and agriculture. Parents must register their children through the fair’s website at http://stancofairkidsclub.com.

This story was originally published July 9, 2015 at 5:36 PM with the headline "Butterflies and bubbles among new delights at the Stanislaus County Fair."