The American Museum of Natural History in New York has dedicated its 5 floors to the history of our planet. It covers everything from dinosaur fossils to distant galaxies, showcasing the world past and present. It is educational and fun and perfect for both adults and children.

American Museum of Natural History Christmas tree 2024 is 13 feet tall and full of elephants! This year’s theme, Proboscideans on Parade, is inspired by the museum’s new exhibition, The Secret World of Elephants.

More than 1,000 origami ornaments adorn the tree. Among the many animals you can see are a mammoth, the iconic Blue Whale, a T-Rex and a colorful garland of hundreds of elephants ringing the tree. Each ornament is hand folded by local, national and international origami artists.

When does the origami diploma start?

Early each year, as the days begin to get a bit longer and the first signs of spring crop up in Central Park, Ros Joyce and Talo Kawasaki, volunteers from OrigamiUSA and the designers of the Museum’s Origami Holiday Tree start planning for the year ahead.

They begin combing the Museum’s halls in search of inspiration—going from floor to floor to decide on a perfect theme and to find just the right exhibits to re-create as origami models on the tree.

With a theme in place, in April the team is ready for action. Lists of models are compiled, paper of many colors and textures is purchased, and volunteers—both children and adults—are enlisted from all over the world and as far away as Japan to fold the intricately complex models—some of which can take days or even weeks to perfect. Eventually, the volunteers create hundreds of new models.

After months of folding, in late September the origami pieces begin arriving at the Museum, where the nonprofit OrigamiUSA is housed, just in time for Joyce and Kawasaki to sift through the archives to see which additional models they will need to fill out the tree.

The Origami Holiday Tree has been a feature of the Museum’s winter season for more than 40 years; with more than four decades of origami neatly stashed in ten large boxes there is no shortage to the selection.

Where is the American Museum of Natural History?

American Museum of Natural History is in Upper West Side of Manhattan. Its exact location is in 200 Central Park W.

What is near Museum of Natural History?

Just opposite is Central Park. Within walking distance are Lincoln Center (21 minutes, 0.9 miles), The Dakota Building (7 minutes, 0.3 miles), Strawberry Fields (6 minutes, 0.3 miles), Belvedere Castle (7 minutes, 0.7 miles), Bow Bridge (14 minutes, 0.5 miles), Children’s Museum Of Manhattan (11 minutes, 0.5 miles), Colombus Circle (24 minutes, 1 mile), American Folk Art Museum (18 minutes, 0.8 mile) and many other attractions.

How to get there?

The closest subway stations are 81 St (A B C trains) and 79 St (1 2 train). Central Park W and Columbus have many bus lines.