How to walk Steve Tobin's "In the Light" at Tyler Arboretum

When somebody new moves to Delco and asks me where to take a walk, I send them to Tyler Arboretum on Painter Road. It's 650 acres of woods and meadows just under four miles from downtown Media, and its story goes back to 1681. This fall Tyler gave me a fresh reason to keep sending people. Since Oct 16, more than 50 sculptures by Steve Tobin have been standing out on the grounds, some of them as tall as the trees around them.

The show is called "Steve Tobin: In the Light," and it runs a full year, through October 2027. You don't need a special ticket. Here's how to see it without wandering in circles, and why the land underneath it is half the story.

What's out there

Tyler Arboretum has spread the show across 24 sites, tucked into its gardens and woodlands and out in the meadows. Tobin was raised on Philadelphia's Main Line, and Tyler says this is the first time he has shown his work in his native Philadelphia region. In Tyler's words, he's an internationally acclaimed sculptor whose work comes out of trees, roots, geology and the hidden structures of the natural world. He put it more simply on Tyler's show page: "Tyler Arboretum is exactly where I want to bring this work."

Tyler groups the pieces into series. The Steel Roots are the ones you'll see from far off. They twist upward and reach as high as 30 feet, like the underside of a tree pulled up into the sky. The Bronze Roots are life-sized and bring underground root systems up where you can walk around them. The Clouds have mirror-like surfaces, so you end up looking at yourself, the sculpture and the woods all at once. On a gray November day those mirrors catch whatever light there is, and that's half the fun.

How to plan the walk

Start at the Visitor Center and grab the exhibition map. Tyler's map numbers all 24 sculpture sites, and the arboretum's own tours split the show the same way, with sites 1 to 14 on one tour and the big pieces at 15 to 24 on another. Give yourself a couple of hours if you want to see most of it. The sites are spread out across the grounds on purpose.

The core of Tyler Arboretum is about 110 acres inside a deer fence, with paved paths, gardens and the Scenic Loop. Beyond the fence there are 17 miles of hiking trails, reached through seven pedestrian gates on the north and east sides. One thing to know during an outdoor exhibit: Tyler says the gates in that fence may be locked at the end of the day for security, and notices on the gates tell you when you need to be back inside. Read the sign before you head out into the far meadows.

Wear real shoes. Most of the inner paths are paved, but some give way to gravel, grass and wood chips, and a few woodland paths between the Pond and the Wister Rhododendron Garden have exposed roots. Tyler recommends strollers with bigger tires over umbrella strollers.

The guided tours

If you'd rather have someone walk you through it, Tyler runs guided Tobin tours, and every one needs pre-registration on the arboretum's ticket site. Here's what's on the calendar for November:

• Sun Nov 1, 1pm: Tobin, Monumentals. Sculptures 15 to 24, the big ones.
• Sat Nov 7, 3:30pm: Tobin, Golden Hour Tour.
• Sat Nov 14, 10:30am: Tobin, Family Tour.
• Sun Nov 22, 6am: Tobin, First Light Tour.
• Sun Nov 29, 10am: Tobin, A Closer Look. Sculptures 1 to 14.

My pick is the Monumentals tour on Nov 1. The 6am First Light tour is for people braver than me. Tour prices weren't listed on the schedule page, so check when you register.

When to go and what it costs

Tyler Arboretum is open every day except Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. From April through October the hours are 9am to 6pm. Starting Nov 1 it's 9am to 4pm through March, which means the Golden Hour tour on Nov 7 lands late in the day. These sculptures are lit by the sun, so plan around daylight.

The exhibition comes with general admission. Adults 18 to 64 pay $18, seniors 65 and up pay $15, and ages 3 to 17 pay $10. Kids 2 and under are free, and so are members. In person, veterans with ID pay $15, and active military and students with ID pay $10. Pennsylvania residents with an ACCESS/EBT card get in for $2 a person, up to four people. Tyler also has a Library Pass program with more than 50 libraries, where one pass covers four people on the days you have it checked out. Ask your branch whether it's one of them.

The land is the other main character

Here's the part that makes this show different from a sculpture park off a highway. Tyler Arboretum is old ground. Tyler's history page says the Lenape lived in the Ridley Creek Valley for thousands of years, and that Lenape families still spent summers nearby into the 1730s. In 1681, a Quaker farmer named Thomas Minshall bought the land from William Penn. His family built Lachford Hall here in the 1730s, and it still stands as Tyler's administrative hub.

In 1800 Hannah Minshall married Enos Painter, and in 1825 their sons, Minshall and Jacob Painter, started planting trees. Over about 50 years the Painter brothers put in more than 1,000 trees, shrubs and plants, many in rows fanning out from Lachford Hall. Tyler says 20 of the trees they planted are still alive, and several are Pennsylvania state champions. The brothers built the Painter Library in 1863 to hold their scientific books and collections, and in 1833 Minshall helped found the Delaware County Institute of Science. Tyler's history page also says the Painters' farm is believed to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad, based on a note in Minshall's diary about a freedom-seeker who came to the hall on a conductor's advice.

The land passed to the brothers' sister Ann, then to her son John J. Tyler. When his widow, Laura Hoopes Tyler, died in 1944, she left the whole property to the public. The arboretum got its first director, John C. Wister, in 1946.

So when you stand under one of Tobin's 30-foot steel roots this fall, look around for the old trees. Some of them were planted by two brothers almost 200 years ago, on a farm bought from Penn himself. Tyler Arboretum has always been a place where people put things in the ground and waited. This year, some of what they put in is steel.

The short version

Steve Tobin's "In the Light" has 50+ sculptures at 24 sites across Tyler Arboretum, 515 Painter Road, Media, through October 2027. It comes with regular admission ($18 adults). Hours are 9 to 4 starting Nov 1. Book the Nov 1 Monumentals tour at 1pm if you want the big pieces with a guide.