The Morton Arb

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Root of the Month
Check out our new feature, Root of the Month!
Hours

The Arboretum is open 365 days a year!

Grounds open at 7 a.m. year-round and close at sunset.
Children's Garden is open 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

For more hours details-click here

Fees

$11 Adults (18–64)
$10 Seniors (65+)
$8 Youth (2–17)
Children under 2 are free!
Discount admission on Wednesdays!


Fee details- click here

Directions

Located 25 miles west of Chicago, The Morton Arboretum—4100 Illinois Route 53 in Lisle, IL—is just west of Interstate 355 and north of I-88 on Illinois Route 53

Click here for more directions & map

Don your Red & Cyan lenses to see 3D images of Steelroots: Tobin @ The Morton Arboretum

whitesteelroot

Check out the Family Activity Guide for Steelroots: Tobin @ The Morton Arboretum

Steelroots: Tobin at The Morton Arboretum

The exhibit runs NOW through January, 31 2011


NEW! Sunset Soiree FREE performances. The Seldoms Dance at the Steelroots on September 11 & 12 and 18 & 19.

Watch Chicago's hottest dance troupe perform in response to the Steelroots exhibition.

Watch this 30 second video about Steelroots: Tobin at The Morton Arboretum.

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Read Thomas Connors' essay, The Forest for the Trees: Seeing Through and Around Steve Tobin's Steelroots.

Visit here for the latest updates on this intriguing temporary outdoor exhibition.


logo_SteelrootsThe majestic fine-art exhibition, Steelroots: Tobin at The Morton Arboretum, opened April 9, 2010.

We invite you to this exciting, first ever comprehensive display of the Steelroots sculpture series by artist Steve Tobin.

Steelroots: Tobin at The Morton Arboretum

The Morton Arboretum: A Captivating Outdoor Gallery


Steelroots is set amid the enchanting backdrop of the 22-acre Conifer Collection. Explore many of Tobin's sculptures along a half-mile walk through magnificent evergreens. Some of Tobin's works also are featured near and inside the Visitor Center.

Steelroots: Tobin at The Morton Arboretum exhibition showcases:

  • 14 featured steelroots sculptures composed of massive rolled and bent steel pipes that soar up to 40 feet high
  • Two bronze root sculptures titled "Romeo and Juliet"
  • Five "kid-sized"  3' to 5' roots
  • A dazzling bronze sculpture of a forest floor
  • Two giant steel pine cones
  • Captivating "Exploded Earth" clay pots inside The Arboretum Store


Steelroots: Meaning and Magic

As you touch, lie beneath, and move around these soaring sculptures, you will:

  • Change your perspective of the surroundings
  • Transform the way you look at trees and nature
  • Provoke questions about root form and function
  • Reconnect with the importance of trees and the power of roots


About Artist Steve Tobin

Tobin's works have been exhibited in museums around the world. Read his Artist's Statement and Biography.

Tobin gained international attention for his "Trinity Root" sculpture memorial near the 9/11 disaster site. He created this piece from the stump and roots of a sycamore tree that shielded historic St. Paul's Church, while other nearby structures were destroyed.

"On 9/11, we found out about the power of all our unseen connections, the things that nurture us that are hidden below the surface," Tobin told The New York Times in 2005.

Visit his website.