Entopia: A hidden gem on Penang Island, Malaysia

The small island of Penang is probably best known for its street food, street art and beaches. When traveling with kids, that’s all well and good, but sometimes, you need a little something different to occupy them.

And thankfully, there’s a little gem that hardly gets any traffic but is an amazing educational activity: Entopia. It is located about 1 hour from GeorgeTown, and only 20 minutes from Batu Ferringghi. Billing itself as the largest butterfly park in all of Malaysia, it’s actually much more. Initially, I was skeptical. I figured an hour or two and that would be it, and at the price they were charging (60RM for adults and 40RM for children or 184RM for a family of four) I was fully expecting to be ripped off.
And my initial impressions were proving me right. Yes, the building was beautiful, and the interior was impressive. But as you walked through the place, you were left wanting more. The butterflies were beautiful, there were various lizards and bugs to look at, but nothing that had us popping out of our seats.

Two white and black butterflies getting nectar out of red flowers — Entopia bills itself as a butterfly farm, but it’s so much more.

It’s once we got out of the “live insect” section that Entopia truly unfurled its beauty and captivated us. From interactive displays to games to animated presentations of different bugs, the facility has to rank among the best educational centres in all of Asia! The amount of information related to insects and butterflies was breathtaking.

There was one whole section dedicated solely to butterfly life: from egg to caterpillar to pupa to butterfly, all in easy to understand displays, videos and even games. There’s even one room dedicated to butterfly-related legends.

A giant stick insect on a hand. — We were able to get up close and personal with one of these giant stick insects.

As you make your way deeper into the building, one exhibit leads to another, each offering different levels of in-depth information so children of all ages, as well as adults, can appreciate it at their own pace and level of interest. There’s also daily demonstrations of some of the more fascinating insects. When we went, there was hardly anyone there, so it was like getting your personal guide. We were able to see a stick insect and a leaf insect from close… very close!

A giant leaf insect on a hand. — When in the forest, this giant leaf insect is extremely hard to find, as it blends in with its surroundings… and food!

The highlight for our kids though was the “mall”, where they could pretend to shop while learning about insect habitats and characteristics. From “Hopper’s Library” to BZB’s real estate shop to Nana’s Vege House, the place captivates the imagination with giant-sized bug statues and activity centres, and the kids get an education about insects without even knowing it!