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New Yorkers have celebrated plenty of unusual birthdays over the years, but this one might be the most out-of-this-world yet.
On Thursday, July 16, Madison Square Park is throwing an all-day celebration for one of its newest (and most extraordinary) residents: a young American sweetgum tree grown from a seed that traveled around the moon aboard NASA's Artemis I mission before returning to Earth and taking root in Manhattan.
The free Moon Tree Launch Party runs from noon to 8 pm and marks more than a year since the sapling was planted on the park's Farragut Lawn after Madison Square Park Conservancy was selected from more than 1,000 applicants to receive one of NASA's coveted Moon Trees. (Notably, the park is Manhattan's only certified arboretum.)
If you're picturing a birthday cake under the branches, think bigger: the celebration will bring together astronomy, art, poetry and horticulture into a full day of family-friendly programming. Researchers from the Simons Foundation will host safe solar-viewing sessions using telescopes, solar binoculars and LightSound devices that transform sunlight into sound, creating an experience that's as fascinating for your ears as it is for your eyes. Visitors can also stop by "Ask a Scientist" conversations exploring everything from distant worlds to science fiction and the surprising ways astronomical data can become music.
The festivities continue with scavenger hunts, hands-on art activities, guided tours of the park's new Celestial Gardens and readings by New York State Poet Laureate Kimiko Hahn, who will debut a poem commissioned specifically to celebrate the Moon Tree's remarkable journey. The event will also feature a gallery of Moon Tree-inspired artwork created by community members in partnership with NPR's Radiolab.
The tree itself is part of a much larger story. Back in 1971, astronaut Stuart Roosa carried hundreds of tree seeds into lunar orbit during the Apollo 14 mission, creating the first generation of "Moon Trees.” Then, more than half a century later, NASA revived the idea by sending a new batch of seeds around the moon aboard the Artemis I mission in 2022. After four weeks in space, the seeds returned to Earth, where they were germinated and distributed to a select group of recipients as part of a national conservation and STEM education initiative. Madison Square Park's sweetgum is one of those second-generation Moon Trees.
Even if you miss the celebration on July 16, you'll still have plenty of reasons to visit. Throughout the summer and into early fall, the park's new Celestial Gardens feature some 10,000 flowers chosen for their cosmic connections, from moonflowers and cosmos to star-shaped blooms and aquatic plants, turning the Reflecting Pool into a celestial landscape.