Tree Adventure

Opening reception Sat., July 4, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., free with regular museum admission of $7-$14, exhibit ongoing, Morris Arboretum, 100 E. Northwestern Ave., 215-247-5777, morrisarboretum.com.

by Kyle Press

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One of Morris Arboretum's new exhibits is the treehouse you always wanted as a kid, blown up to epic proportions. Rising branchlike from the forest floor, it consists of a 450-foot walkway that climbs five stories into a canopy, eventually encircling a 250-year-old oak and culminating in a realistic, room-sized bird's nest built from harvested branches.

A $3.1 million structure, "Out on a Limb" has taken Metcalfe Architecture & Design more than six months to complete. Impressive as it is, it's actually only one part of a larger exhibit, "Tree Adventure," which explores how trees play a vital role in maintaining environmental balance. In it, you can learn about the world's oldest trees; see complex systems of roots the way they actually look underground, painted right onto the pavement below your feet; and find out how animals, including us, use trees for shelter.

So, what's the point of all this tree lovin'?

"The idea comes from looking for better ways of getting the stewardship message across," says Morris public programs director Robert Gutowski. "[Because] in Philadelphia, the trees don't vote."

Opening reception Sat., July 4, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., free with regular museum admission of $7-$14, exhibit ongoing, Morris Arboretum, 100 E. Northwestern Ave., 215-247-5777, morrisarboretum.com.