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Origami Tree Covered in 800 Paper Figures Debuts at Natural History Museum

By Emily Frost | November 24, 2014 3:45pm
 A tree covered in 800 pieces of origami was unveiled Monday at the museum.
Origami Tree at the American Museum of Natural History
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UPPER WEST SIDE — A 13-foot tree covered in more than 800 origami models of dinosaurs, cavemen, bears, and even of Theodore Roosevelt was unveiled Monday at the American Museum of Natural History.

This fall, marking the museum's 42nd year of hosting the origami tree, the designers chose a "Night at the Museum" theme, based on the popular kids movie trilogy starring Ben Stiller and Robin Williams. In the film, the museum's preserved creatures, as well as a statue of Theodore Roosevelt played by Williams, come to life after dark.

A menagerie of dinosaurs and animals, carefully folded using the Japanese technique, is among the stars of the colorful tree, drawing in the viewer with their level of detail. 

The origami pieces were made by about 20 contributors from the nonprofit Origami USA, which draws on artists from all over the world to help populate the tree. Throughout the year, artists from places as far as Australia carefully wrap individual origami models and ship them to the museum, explained Wendy Ziechner, the president of the organization. 

"All of the models on the tree are exhibition-quality models that are meticulously folded," she said. 

The models can take hours or days to complete, depending on the level of complexity, Ziechner explained.

If they were to be sold, the origami pieces could fetch anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars, said Rosalind Joyce, who works with Origami USA and helped organize this year's tree. 

Talo Kawaski, a graphic designer by day and an origami maker in his spare time, designed and created the Theodore Roosevelt piece. For inspiration, he looked closely at photos of Williams in "Night at the Museum," he said.

Creating the Roosevelt model "meant a lot more to us this year because of Robin Williams' passing," said Kawaski, who added that he created a separate mustache, hat, figure, horse and saddle to build a complete origami rendering. 

His T-Rex was even more of an undertaking, combining 20 different pieces of paper that needed to be folded carefully together, he said. 

The time investment was worth it for the sense of ownership Kawaski had over such an elaborate creation, he said.

“This opportunity to be a co-designer was too good to pass up,” he said.

The tree is on display through Jan. 5 in the museum's Grand Gallery.