Holiday Tree
The Origami Holiday Tree is an annual event produced by OrigamiUSA at the American Museum of Natural History. Each year, OrigamiUSA and our team of volunteers designs and produces a stunning tree in the main hall of the Museum, decorated with hundreds of origami figures folded and sent in by members and origami aficionados from around the world. This gorgeous spectacle has been an institute in New York City for many years, and is a linchpin of the relationship between OrigamiUSA and the Museum of Natural History.
Holiday Tree 2009
Using all the letters of the alphabet, the 2009 Origami Holiday Tree theme of “Origami from A to Z” provided a backdrop for grouping animals having names that started with a particular letter. As a challenge, some animals were placed near a letter based on scientific name, group, or category. Inspired by the exhibit “Extreme Mammals, the base of the tree reflected the rich diversity of mammals: land, air, sea, as well as past and present. The invitation to embark on an alphabetical journey and name as many origami models as possible became a unique, entertaining, and interactive event for visitors and museum staff alike. Thanks to all folders for contributing tree and Annual Gift models.
Please contact Delrosa Marshall and Ros Joyce at if you have other questions.
Holiday Tree Galleries
Click the links below for galleries of past trees. If you have photographs of older trees (or more to add to these), please please contact us at ; we'd love to add your to the collection!
Organizing your Own Holiday Tree
Ever thought about creating your own origami Holiday Tree? OrigamiUSA member June Sakamoto has written up a set of guidelines to help get you started! Download them here. If you have an online gallery of photos of your holiday tree, send us a link and we'll post it below.
