The Origami Holiday Tree: New York’s Beloved 13-Foot Holiday Tree Featuring 1,000+ Origami Pieces, Including Dinosaurs (Video)NEW

An annual New York City tradition, the delightfully decorated Origami Holiday Tree has been a popular feature of the holiday season at the Museum for decades.

This year’s dazzling 13-foot holiday tree, on the theme New Beginnings, celebrates the spectacular variety of species that evolved after an asteroid impact ended the age of dinosaurs some 66 million years ago.

Among the more than 1,000 origami pieces are dinosaurs and other extinct reptiles-pterosaurs that ruled the skies, mosasaurs and plesiosaurs that roamed the seas, as well as Triceratops and T. rex, which walked the Earth during the Cretaceous Period.

The tree also includes an array of mammals and insects that evolved after the asteroid impact.

These new mammals include ancestors of the Museum’s iconic Blue Whale, as well as our primate ancestors. Look for birds, too-dinosaurs living among us today.

Explore more about the asteroid’s impact on the planet in the Museum’s new exhibition, Impact: The End of the Age of Dinosaurs. Look also for the spectacular Stegosaurus named Apex in its new home on the fourth floor.

Dates (Check Dates)
November 20, 20253 - January 15, 2026

The Christmas Tree will be on view for at least the duration of the holiday season, typically through the end of the year or early January.  Check museum for dates. 

Origami How-To Videos

Costs
Free with admission.

Location
Grand Gallery, 1st Floor 

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