Sanctuary-themed Christmas Tree Brightens Holiday Sea-son

December 23, 2022

We're making a splash in Houston for the holidays this year! For the first time, Houston Museum of Natural Science invited us to decorate one of the Christmas trees that grace their spacious lobby each year.

Christmas tree decorated with coral reef themed ornaments — *Our reef-themed Christmas tree introduces the sanctuary to visitors at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Credit: Ryan Hannum/FGBNMS*

With the theme Down Under, Out Yonder in the Deep Blue Gulf, we tried to bring both the sanctuary's shallow and deep reefs to life. With a combination of ornaments, floral picks, ribbon, and other elements we showcased 22 different sanctuary species, representing algae, cnidarians, annelids, crustaceans, mollusks, echinoderms, bony fish, cartilaginous fish, and reptiles.

Close up views of Christmas tree worm, coral, starfish, jellyfish, and hermit crab ornaments — *Christmas tree worms, coral, starfish, hermit crabs, jellyfish, sea turtles and more decorate our sanctuary-themed tree. Credit: Kelly Drinnen/FGBNMS, Sasha Francis/NOAA*

We also included a few non-sanctuary species, to see if anyone is paying attention. We challenge you to find them all!

Close up views of narwhal, reindeer, and scuba shark ornaments — *A few donated decorations may not be scientifically correct for the sanctuary, but they're fun nevertheless! Credit: Ryan Hannum/FGBNMS, Kelly Drinnen/FGBNMS*

And, of course, we topped the tree with a manta ray! How could we not?

A woman atop a ladder points to the manta ray plush toy she just placed at the top of the tree — *Sasha Francis found a way to mount a manta ray plush toy at the top of the tree. Credit: Ryan Hannum/FGBNMS*

You can visit this and all of the other beautiful trees at the Houston Museum of Natural Science from now through January 2, 2023. The lobby area is open to all, free of charge.

Five sanctuary staff members pose for a selfie in front of the decorated tree — Several sanctuary staff members helped decorate the tree, while others helped with behind the scenes coordination and planning. (Left to right: Olivia Eisenbach, Kelly Drinnen, Sasha Francis, Ryan Hannum, Donavon French) Credit: Kelly Drinnen/FGBNMS

Although we only had a couple of weeks to come up with a plan to decorate a tree, this project was enthusiastically supported by sanctuary staff, with assistance from the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. It was a great way to kick off our holiday season and a unique way to introduce the sanctuary to new audiences!