FAQs

The Museum received more than 1.5 million butterflies to memorialize the 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust.  Butterflies were submitted from every continent except Antarctica. 

Since we have reached our goal, Holocaust Museum Houston is no longer accepting butterflies for this project. Schools and organizations may continue to teach the lesson plan and organize mini-exhibitions in their own communities.

A selection of the 1.5 million butterflies received will be on display at the Museum from July. 31, 2016 to Decembery 31, 2016. Six traveling exhibit displays will go on display at various locations around Houston beginning March 10, 2016.

You can view the locations here. 

A portion of the butterflies submitted will become part of the Museum’s permanent collection. A committee will be formed to discuss a final home for the remainder of the butterflies. There are no fixed plans at the present time.

Butterflies submitted for this project are the property of Holocaust Museum Houston.  We are not able to return butterflies after the exhibition. Because of this issue, some sites have preferred to conduct their own project and not send the Museum their butterflies. This is more than acceptable and a wonderful way for communities to continue to teach about the Holocaust and its lessons.

Unfortunately, because of the number of butterflies received, it is not possible to discern if a particular butterfly from a specific person or school has been included.

The Butterfly Project began prior to the Museum's opening in 1996 as a class project under the direction of then-teacher and later former Holocaust Museum Houston Executive Director Susan Myers.

The Butterfly Project aims to connect with everyone. What and where is your sphere of influence? Our message is to resonate across generations, religions, traditions and more. Take the pledge and let your community (online + offline) know you #StandWithHope.

You can also become an official ambassador for the Project. Learn more here. 

Absolutely. Please contact us via our contact form to become an Official Partner.

With your help, we can spread the message that Hope > Hate.  An ambassador can champion this cause however they'd like. If you're an online influencer with a large audience, your approach may be all digital. If you're a motivational speaker, you could tell of the Project through speeches and offline events. Use our form to get in contact with us to tailor your approach to sharing.