1000s of Folds + Paper = 1 Amazing Origami Christmas Tree

How do you fit a cobra, dragon, spider and puffer fish onto one Christmas tree? Origami.

For over 40 years the American Museum of Natural History has been trimming its holiday pine with origami “models” (don’t call them “ornaments,” the curator explains, these are exhibition-quality pieces). This year’s tree has over 800 amazing models, some of which required 100-plus folds and at least four hours to create. Volunteers start folding in July.

With so many paper creatures crawling on one tree, you may wonder if there’s any reason in all of those creases. There is. Wendy Zeichner, the president of OrigamiUSA, which helped curate the exhibit, explains that this year’s models were inspired by combining the themes of two of the museum’s current shows — “The Power of Poison” and “Whales: Giants of the Deep” — into “Wicked, Wild and Wonderful.”

A giant whale sits where a star usually shines. Also included in the selection are scorpions, poison frogs and witches inspired by Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” If you’re in New York, stop by the museum and have yourself a wicked little Christmas.

The American Museum of Natural History is located at Central Park West at 79th Street. For more information, check out www.amnh.org.

A turtle and peacock on the American Museum of Natural History origami Christmas tree.

Birds, bears and foxes on this year's origami Christmas tree.