Morton Arboretum celebrates Arbor Day with a week of special events
Children's curiosity about how tiny seeds pushed into the earth can grow much taller than the tallest human could be satisfied Friday at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.
Children are invited to join in a tree planting at the tree museum that will be led by two costumed characters: Curious George, the monkey whose inquisitive nature often gets him into sticky situations, and The Man With the Yellow Hat, who regularly comes to George's rescue.
It's an Arbor Day celebration that sets in motion a week of special events at the outdoor museum.
“It's like our big holiday here,” said Lesley Kolaya, the arboretum's manager of youth and family programs. “On Arbor Day, whoever dresses like a tree can get in for free.”
Dozens of visitors have taken the arboretum up on that offer in past years, she said.
Curious George and his caretaker have become traditional Arbor Day guides over the past few years, Kolaya said.
The Curious George event begins at 11 a.m. in the Children's Garden with a reading of the book “Curious George Plants A Tree,” followed by a walk to a nearby area between the hedge collection and the concert lawn, where children can help plant Princeton American elm trees and early glow buckeyes, said Patricia MacMillan, arboretum public relations specialist.
Children also will have a chance to plant Englemann spruce tree seeds, Kolaya said, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday.
“It's a self-guided activity,” she said.
After that, children can make their own planters to take home, fashioned out of rolled up newspapers.
Children also will inspect and discuss “tree cookies,” which are cross sections of tree branches that have been trimmed, to learn about tree history.
“They can learn the tree's age, how well it grew, whether it was wet or dry,” Kolaya said.
From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday, children may participate in self-guided scavenger hunts that impart tree knowledge while the kids hunt for clues.
“Kids will go clue-to-clue to learn about five different trees that live in the garden,” Kolaya said.
Kolaya said kids will learn about how trees can be used to make life better for humans. For example, root beer is made with ingredients from the sassafras tree and aspirin has its roots in the willow, she said.
Children also can participate in the Be a Tree program by making paper, leaf-shaped masks for themselves. The arboretum provides the needed art supplies, she said.
The arboretum will offer more than 100,000 trees and plants at its Arbor Day Plant Sale. The sale is open exclusively to members on Friday and Saturday; it's open to the public, including members, after paid admission to the arboretum, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Kolaya said the sale features more than 200 species of trees, shrubs and flowers.
The plant sale is continually restocked throughout the weekend and offers shoppers species and varieties chosen by arboretum staff that are appropriate for Chicago-area gardens, MacMillan said.
Arbor Day celebration with Curious George
<b>Where:</b> Morton Arboretum, 4100 Route 53, Lisle
<b>When:</b> 11 a.m. Friday, April 28
<b>Admission:</b> $14 for adults, $12 for seniors 65 and older, $9 for children ages 2-17
<b>Info:</b> <a href="http://www.mortonarb.org">mortonarb.org</a>