[title]
Festooned with more than 1,000 meticulously hand-folded paper ornaments, this year’s 13-foot-tall tree at the American Museum of Natural History is inspired by the theme "Gems of the Museum." Some of the pieces decorating the greenery are models of specimens that populate the uber-popular new Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals. Others are inspired by the new special exhibition "Sharks" and others still are renderings of iconic displays found throughout the cultural destination. Our favorite piece? A model of a blue whale with a bandage on her fin, a nod to the current COVID-19 vaccination site hosted at the museum and a throwback to the post-vaccination bandage that was installed at the exhibit earlier this year.