Things look different in the eyes of a child, and while adults share a common language, children have invented their own.

“Na, na, na,” says one young visitor to Durham’s Museum of Life and Science. She is pointing to a butterfly.

Whatever name you choose to call them, the butterfly house has about a thousand of the exotic insects.

They are imported from countries in South and Central America, East Asia and Kenya. It takes some pretty high temperatures to support plants and butterflies from these regions.

"Because they used to grow in the tropics, 80 degrees Fahrenheit, 80 degrees humidity is what, if you want to have one of those in your backyard, [you] should start and shoot for," says Uli Hartmond, the museum’s director.

The butterfly house provides conditions similar to the butterflies’ natural habitat. This helps them maintain their normal behavior.

Conservatory specialist Richard Stickney says, "A mother of a small child will ask, 'Are those butterflies really doing what I think they're doing?' and we say ‘yes,’ and they say, ‘Well how am I supposed to explain that to my four-year-old?’"

The Museum of Life and Science hopes it can help educate both parents and children about the butterfly’s life cycle.

There are also aerospace and wildlife exhibits at the Museum of Life and Science. To find out more info about these and several others, visit the museum’s Web site at www.ncmls.org.