The Origami Holiday Tree has marked the start of the holiday season at the American Museum of Natural History for more than 30 years. Following this years theme of Origami, A to Z, the 13-foot tree is covered with paper letters and alphabetically-corresponding objects: an A and an Apatosaurus, a B and a butterfly, a C and a chimpanzee, an F and a frog, an M and a mastodon, an S and a sabertooth tiger, and a T and a Tyrannosaurus rex. Many of the models were chosen to showcase the rich diversity of mammals featured in the exhibition Extreme Mammals: The Biggest, Smallest, and Most Amazing Mammals of All Time.

Museum President Ellen V. Futter was joined by youngsters from the Goddard Riverside Head Start Program and accompanied by the Josh Rutner Quintet.

Produced for the American Museum of Natural History on November 24, 2009.