Serenity on screen: Pacific Bonsai Museum closed to public, offers virtual tours

Bonsai Mirai to host live stream working on a yamadori Colorado blue spruce at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 17.

By Olivia Sullivan • March 17, 2020 2:30 pm
Serenity on screen: Pacific Bonsai Museum closed to public, offers virtual tours

Although the Pacific Bonsai Museum has closed, members of the public are able to virtually enjoy the art of bonsai.

To help flatten the COVID-19 exposure curve, the museum closed on Monday until further notice, according to a museum newsletter.

“We will do our best to continue to share our bonsai love with you wherever you are,” the newsletter stated.

To bring bonsai practitioners together worldwide, Bonsai Mirai is hosting a live stream of Mirai Live for the public for this week.

Bonsai Mirai will be working on a yamadori Colorado blue spruce at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 17. The live stream can be viewed on YouTube or Facebook.

“By watching, you can build your skills in reporting and in handling the roots of elongating species while you build strength in the bonsai community,” the museum shared.

Some virtual opportunities to enjoy bonsai include:

  • More installments of slow TV-style, calming walks through Pacific Bonsai Museum to help everyone breathe.
  • Sneak peeks of inspiring life stories and historical photos of bonsai heroes to be featured in the upcoming exhibition: World War Bonsai: Remembrance & Resilience.
  • Featured stories and archival photos of 30 bonsai featured in the museum’s upcoming book A Gallery of Trees: Living Art of Pacific Bonsai Museum. The book is currently in the process of being printed.
  • In-depth articles that aim to explain the museum’s four-part, multi year-long experiment investigating the Living Art of Bonsai (LAB) program.
  • Behind-the-scenes video, photos, and explanations of how museum staff are continuing to care for the bonsai daily.

“We’re all in this together. Please stay home, take care of yourselves and others, be patient, safe and well,” the newsletter stated. “Know that the bonsai will be well taken care of and ready to see you when the time comes.”

If you have suggestions or are curious to learn more about a particular bonsai topic, the museum encourages you to send a note to the communications manager at katherine@pacificbonsaimuseum.org.

For more information, visit pacificbonsaimuseum.org.