Photos courtesy of Betsy Barron Fine Art Photography

Fabulous ‘critter’ ornaments, created from natural materials by Conservancy volunteers, adorn seven fresh-cut fir trees on the first and third floors.

The Brandywine River Museum’s ‘A Brandywine Christmas’ features an exhibition of pop-up books, handmade critter ornaments on trees throughout the museum, and an extensive O-gauge train display.

The museum will be all decked out for holiday fun with its popular O-gauge model train display, thousands of whimsical ‘critter’ ornaments, an exhibition of jewelry inspired by the art of Andrew Wyeth and the fascinating exhibition, ‘Pop-Up! Illustration in 3-D’, all on view through January 6th, 2013.

With the element of surprise and the excitement of motion, pop-up books delight everyone. ‘Pop-Up! Illustration in 3-D’ presents a selection of books that ranges from late 19th century examples to the sophisticated constructions designed by contemporary paper engineers working with noted artists/illustrators like Edward Gorey, Maurice Sendak and Tomie dePaola. The exhibition is drawn largely from the extensive collection of Ann Montanaro Staples, founder of The Movable Book Society and preeminent authority on movable books.

Also on view is ‘Donald Pywell: Golden Impressions of Andrew Wyeth.’ This display features exquisitely-crafted jewelry by Donald Pywell and inspired by Andrew Wyeth’s paintings. Pywell collaborated with Wyeth on the design for each piece of jewelry. Architectural designer T. Mark Cole has created settings for each item of jewelry, also inspired by the paintings.

The spectacular O-gauge train display, beloved by visitors of all ages, fills an entire gallery. As many as five of 150 locomotives and 300 freight cars run simultaneously on more than 2,000 feet of track, winding past a village, stone quarry, oil refinery, mountains, and running waterfall, as Santa and his sleigh fly overhead. A ‘rail cam,’ mounted on a snowplow, gives visitors a view from the perspective of a miniature locomotive driver.

Fabulous ‘critter’ ornaments, created from natural materials by Conservancy volunteers, adorn seven fresh-cut fir trees on the first and third floors. Charming critter scenes surround the base of the trees and fill display cases. A stunning, towering tree–also laden with critter ornaments—rises up three stories through the central lobby of the museum.

As part of ‘A Brandywine Christmas,’ choral groups from local schools will provide musical entertainment in the second floor lobby area throughout December.

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The Brandywine River Museum is located on U.S. Route 1 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The museum is open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except for Christmas Day. Admission costs $12, adults; $8, seniors age 65 and over; $6, students and children ages 6-12; free for children under age 6 and Brandywine Conservancy members. For more information, call 610-388-2700 or visit the Museum’s website: brandywinemuseum.org.