Flight of the Butterflies 3D Soars Into The Henry Ford IMAX Theatre Today

Experience one of the most incredible migrations on Earth and one man's search to unravel its mysteries today, Feb. 18 when Flight of the Butterflies 3D soars into The Henry Ford Imax Theatre. Based on a true story, the 44-minute documentary immerses audiences in a triumphant journey of two unlikely heroes that share a common strength. It follows the epic journey of monarch butterflies and the determined scientist, Fred Urquhart, who spent 40 years trying to discover the mysteries surrounding their journey and secret winter hideaway.

What began with a small boy daydreaming about where butterflies went each winter became a lifelong pursuit by Urquhart, who enlisted the help of legions of volunteers, known as "citizen scientists," to help with tagging and tracking the butterflies. The decades-long quest yielded the ultimate discovery of the monarch butterflies' overwintering sites hidden 10,000 feet high in the mountains of the States of Michoacán and Mexico.

Through spectacular Imax technology audiences are transported into the tiny world of one intrepid creature-Dana (Danaus plexippus)-and her offspring as they migrate north from Mexico through the U.S. to Canada and back south again to the hidden butterfly sanctuaries. Weighing less than a penny, the butterfly makes one of the longest migrations on Earth across a continent, yet with pinpoint navigational accuracy, to a place it has never been.

Moviegoers will experience this journey up close and see the evolution from egg to caterpillar to pupa to butterfly captured for The First Time thanks to MRI and micro CT scans-which bring audiences closer to the action than ever before. The close-up/macro photography work was undertaken in collaboration with Academy Award-winner Peter Parks (The Tree of Life).

Flight of the Butterflies in 3D is a co-production between Mexico, Canada and the U.K. Director Mike Slee co-wrote the script with co-executive producer Wendy MacKeigan (Journey to Mecca: In the Footsteps of Ibn Battuta, The Water Brothers). The film's executive producer is Jonathan Barker (Bugs! 3D, Into the Deep 3D) and is distributed by SK Films. For information on tickets and showtimes, please call (313) 982-6001 or visit the website at thehenryford.org.