Seasonal Exhibitions
Morris Arboretum & Gardens displays a rotation of innovative exhibitions that enhance the garden experience.
Upcoming Exhibitions
Just in time to mark America’s 250th, Morris Arboretum & Gardens brings America’s past and present vividly to life through three interconnected exhibitions that reveal how ideas rooted in the past continue to shape how we experience nature and joy today.
Garden Railway: Revolutionary Philly
MAY 22 – SEPTEMBER 30, 2026
Garden Railway: Revolutionary Philly invites visitors of all ages to take a miniature journey through eighteenth‑century Philadelphia. Set within lush garden plantings, the immersive miniature landscape celebrates Philadelphia’s pivotal role in the nation’s founding. Bustling model trains wind along more than a third of a mile of track through verdant gardens, passing handcrafted replicas of iconic landmarks such as Independence Hall and so much more.
Plants from the Colonial Era
MAY 22 – SEPTEMBER 30, 2026
Explore the living landscape of eighteenth-century Philadelphia! This self-guided exhibition highlights plants that would have been familiar to area residents during the colonial era. These plants supported daily life in countless ways, providing food, medicine, building materials, and sources of beauty and comfort. From plants found in home gardens to those in Penn’s woods, many of which were long stewarded by local Indigenous communities, the exhibition reveals how nature shaped civic life, independence, and resilience in early Philadelphia.
Pursuit of Happiness: Finding Joy in Nature
JUNE 13 – AUGUST 30, 2026
As the nation marks 250 years of independence with parades and public festivities, the Morris offers a refreshing alternative, a sanctuary where visitors can recharge and rediscover happiness through the restorative power of nature. Visitors can enjoy tree swings that evoke the freedom of childhood for adults and children; explore a Sensory Cottage that engages sight, sound, touch, and scent; and encounter three Singing Trees, activated by windchimes, that offer Joyful, Meditative, and Gathering soundscapes. Colorful Adirondack chairs invite lingering across the gardens, while a giant floating rubber duck adds an element of surprise and whimsy. Pursuit of Happiness: Finding Joy in Nature encourages visitors to immerse themselves in artful plantings, interactive installations, and moments of quiet discovery that inspire wandering, play, and reconnection with nature.
Past Exhibitions
Bees, Butterflies & Blooms: A Pollinator Paradise
MAY 23 – SEPTEMBER 30, 2025
The Morris becomes a paradise for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators! Each month brings together people, plants, and pollinators in meaningful ways with fun workshops, engaging programs, and specialty guided tours, making this exhibition a delightful and eye-opening experience for all ages.
Summer of Dinos
MAY 25 – SEPTEMBER 30, 2024
Visitors were invited to discover Plants in the Age of Dinosaurs—a self-guided exhibition featuring plants in our collection with roots that go back to prehistoric times. There was also a brand-new dinosaur exhibition in the Garden Railway, Garden Railway: Dinos! Plus, a pop-up paleontologist’s cottage featuring hands-on “dig stations” and special family programming,
90th Anniversary
MARCH – DECEMBER 2023
We celebrated this historic milestone by unveiling a new name, a refreshed brand, and a renewed emphasis on colorful plantings. We reopen our popular Rose Garden and revealed Exuberant Bloom, and throughout the year we held events and programs in celebration of our anniversary. We’ll also shared bits of our history every week on social media—check out #90yearsofMorris to get a glimpse into our past.
Summer of Swings
JUNE 24 – OCTOBER 2, 2022
Summer of Swings was a seasonal exhibit that invited visitors of all ages to experience the Morris in a totally new way—while perched on one of 10 swings placed strategically across 92 acres of spectacular gardens.