PHILADELPHIA – Explore the world of a designer, an architect and a botanist for the day during Morris Arboretum’s annual Arbor Day celebration on Saturday, April 28 from 11 am - 3pm.  Five stations set up throughout the Arboretum will give visitors the opportunity to expand their knowledge of trees while participating in challenging, but fun activities.  Stations will include designing a tree house, learning to identify trees, writing the history of a tree’s life, planning an urban treescape, and observing arborists at work.  This event, open to all visitors, also gives 6th, 7th and 8th grade Girl Scouts the opportunity to earn their “Tree” badge, www.gsep.org/media/files/spark_program_pow.pdf.
 
Throughout the week prior, from Monday, April 23–Friday, April 27 there will be more Arbor Day activities for school groups. Each weekday will have two sessions from 10am-11:15am and 11:30am-12:45pm. Pre-K through 3rd grade groups will take part in an ecology and environment curriculum including: transplanting a tree seedling, examining a roots exhibit, and playing Jeopardy!, Morris Arboretum style. Space is limited for this program and group rates are available. To schedule a group visit, call 215-247-5777, ext 157.  Both events are free with regular admission.
 
During your visit, pick up the Tree Adventure Passport: Explorer Edition that is available at the Widener Visitors Center.  What better guide to let the discovery begin at Morris Arboretum!  Filled with interactive activities, the Explorer Edition Tree Adventure Passport features challenges related to trees that include, how to tell compass directions, learning about bird calls, refrigeration in Victorian times, cool facts, and much more…plus exploratory activities to do at home.
 
The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania is located at 100 East Northwestern Avenue in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia.  The 92-acre horticulture display garden features a spectacular collection of mature trees in a beautiful and colorful landscape. The Arboretum includes numerous picturesque spots such as a formal rose garden, historic water features, a swan pond, and the only remaining freestanding fernery in North America. A new permanent nationally award winning exhibit, Out on a Limb – a Tree Adventure adds to Morris Arboretum’s allure by transporting visitors 50 feet up into the treetops on a canopy walk that requires no climbing.  Out on a Limb was awarded the prestigious Excellence in Exhibition Design by the American Association of Museums and a Gold Medal for Design Excellence from the American Institute of Architects. The Morris Arboretum’s new Horticulture Center Complex has received Platinum Level LEED® Certification, the highest sustainability rating of the U.S. Green Building Council. The Morris Arboretum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the official arboretum of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.morrisarboretum.org.