What: Hanging with butterflies

Where: The Museum of Science

Tucked in the back of the Museum of Science up on the top floor is a place where you will enjoy some of the most magical experiences in the building. And they have nothing to do with Harry Potter, dinosaurs, or man-made lightning. It’s all about the butterflies. Simple, beautiful insects.

The museum’s Butterfly Garden, a small greenhouse filled with tropical plants and dozens of winged insects, overlooks the Charles River and is a good 20 degrees warmer than the rest of the museum. (If you go this time of year, prepare to leave your jacket at the door, or you won’t be able to spend more than a few minutes in there without feeling overheated.)

We sat on a bench in there for about a half hour, watching the mourning cloaks, black swallowtails, and tiger leafwings flutter about, and extend their proboscises to sip nectar from flowers. We remained still in hopes that some would land on us, and they did. The orange queen butterfly was clearly attracted to the orange fleece vest that my son Liam was wearing, because it landed on him - and wouldn’t leave. The darn thing sat with him, calmly, for at least 15 minutes. Liam enjoyed every second of it. Aidan and Amelia joked that the butterfly was Liam’s girlfriend, which of course Liam found yucky.

Yuckier was the atlas moth. With a wingspan of 11 inches, it looks like something out of a 1950s horror movie (“Attack of the Killer Moths’’?). Luckily the atlas is active mostly at night, so it wasn’t flying about, knocking people’s glasses off their faces.

There is a separate admission charge ($2.50 adults, $2 seniors, $1.50 children) to enter the Butterfly Garden. This time of year, when you can barely feel your toes outside, it’s worth it to transport yourself to midsummer, even if only briefly.