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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2007

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Susan Crane (215) 247-5777 x121

Appealing to the Kid in All of Us,
The Morris Arboretum Celebrates the 10th Anniversary
Of its Garden Railway Display

PHILADELPHIA – 2007 marks the 10-year anniversary of the summer Garden Railway Display at the Morris Arboretum. Garden Railway has proven so popular that the display will open with the unofficial start of summer on Memorial Day weekend, Saturday, May 26th and run through October 8th.

Set within the beauty of the Arboretum’s summer gardens, Garden Railway has grown to include a quarter mile of track featuring seven loops and tunnels with 12 different rail lines, two cable cars, and nine bridges (including a trestle bridge you can walk under). The 2007 theme is Great American Train Stations, featuring replicas of some of our country’s original railroad stations; including Gettysburg where Lincoln arrived to deliver the Gettysburg Address.

Visitors of all ages will once again be wow-ed by the bustling G-scale model trains running through a summer landscape that combines plants and flowers with buildings made of natural materials – bark, leaves, twigs, hollow logs, mosses, acorns, dried flowers, seeds and stones. The result is a perfectly proportioned miniature landscape complete with rivers and waterfalls. Each building, while an exact replica of the original, is unique in its design. Philadelphia-area landmarks such as a masterpiece replica of Independence Hall are made using pinecone seeds for shingles, acorns as finials and twigs as downspouts.

Each year, the Arboretum’s Garden Railway designer, Paul Busse, works with Arboretum horticulturists to design an ever-changing display that will delight visitors both young and old. A landscape architect and garden railway designer, Busse has designed and created exhibits nationwide from The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) to the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Special activities on opening day will include conductor-hat making, popcorn and snow cones, and free coloring books (while supplies last). Plus, kids will create cards to celebrate the Garden Railway’s 10th birthday.

The display is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekends through early fall. Thursday evenings the Arboretum is open until 8:00 p.m. in June, July and August. The display is free with regular admission ($10 adults, $8 Seniors, $5 Students and Youth (3-18), under age 3 is free). Lunch is available daily at the Morris Arboretum Café from 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., and dinner is available on Thursday evenings until 7:30 p.m. through August 31st. For more information, please call (215) 247-5777, or visit www.morrisarboretum.org.

The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania is located at 100 Northwestern Avenue in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. The 92-acre horticultural display garden features a spectacular collection of mature trees in a Victorian landscape. The Arboretum features numerous picturesque spots such as the formal rose garden, Japanese gardens, swan pond, meadows, and the elegant Fernery. The Morris Arboretum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the official arboretum of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

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