Durham museum's tree house exhibit to open Tuesday

Hideaway Woods' centerpiece will be eight tree houses that rise between five- to 20-feet off of the ground and are supported by loblolly pines and sweetgum trees. The hand-crafted tree houses are connected with net bridges, slides and a spiral staircase. For younger visitors, there's the Young Explorers space with smaller slides, bridges and structures.

But that's not all: You'll see a remarkable 2,500-square-foot art installation by artist Patrick Dougherty that's made out of twigs that visitors can explore. There's also a man-made stream that's designed for splashing and play.

The exhibit sits in a formerly undeveloped area of the museum's 84-acre campus that is surrounded by the train tracks.

I'll have much more about what looks like a spectacular exhibit early this week, but I wanted to share a few images now in the image gallery.

Hideaway Woods will be free with admission to the museum, which is $14.50; $10 for kids ages 3 to 12; and free for kids under three.