In August 2005, Mexican filmmaker and pilot Francisco Gutiérrez took off in his ultralight aircraft from Montreal to follow the monarch butterflies on their 6,000 km migration from Canada to the mountains of central Mexico, in a bid to raise awareness of the importance of preserving the butterflies’ habitat.

In collaboration with the Embassy of Mexico, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum has produced an exhibition from the material recorded by Mr. Gutiérrez on his journey aboard the Papalotzin – the nickname of his ultralight aircraft, which means “small butterfly” in the Aztec language. On the Trail of the Monarch Butterfly will be presented at the Humboldt & District Museum from December 31 to February 22.

On the Trail of the Monarch Butterfly features breathtaking photographs taken by Mr. Gutiérrez, as well as the 60-minute movie documentary Papalotzin – The Flight of the Monarch Butterfly. A number of educational activities and crafts are also available to help raise awareness to the conservation issues facing Monarch butterflies.

We gratefully acknowledge that funding for the On the Trail of the Monarch Butterfly exhibition was provided by the federal government through the Museums Assistance Program Exhibition Circulation Fund.