Best of Rhode Island 2008 Editors' Picks

Housed in a greenhouse off Tiverton's Bulgarmarsh Road, the Butterfly Zoo is more modest than your average attraction, but don't let that turn you off. Marc Scheneck's collection of up to 1,000 butterflies (including the Costa Rican zebra longwing, right) is well worth a detour for a tour (which he conducts in five languages). A former biology teacher who holds three butterfly-related U.S. patents, Scheneck has been raising the winged wonders since he was in second grade. Stop by often: Each Friday he receives chrysalises from all over the world, such as a must-see-it-to-believe-it South American beauty with transparent wings.