Toronto Royal Ontario Museum
No visit to Toronto would be complete without a trip to the grand Royal Ontario Museum or the ROM. Canada’s largest and most extensive Museum houses more than six million artworks and cultural items displayed in 40 galleries. It is filled with artistic, natural, and cultural treasures from around the globe and through the ages. The ROM first opened on March 19, 1914, and was governed by the University of Toronto and the Government of Ontario. Today over one and a half million people visit the Museum annually. The Museum has maintained a close relationship with the University of Toronto, sharing resources and expertise. The ROM is Canada’s lead field research institute and participates in conservation and research throughout the world.
When it first opened, five separate museums were exhibited: Archeology, Paleontology, Mineralogy, Geology, and Zoology, costing four hundred thousand dollars. Today the ROM has two main galleries, the World Cultural Galleries and the Natural History Galleries, that house 40 galleries and exhibits. Several galleries have been named after sponsors to honour their significant donations or collections. For example, The Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery is on the first level. The large open lobby space shows items from several Museum collections instead of a single dedicated exhibit.
In August 2019, the Helga and Mike Schmidt Performance Terrace and the Reed Family Plaza ushered in a new way to enjoy the ROM. A part of the Welcome Project, 13,595 square feet of outdoor space is transformed for visitors to gather for open-air music, theatre, and discussion in a lush garden setting. The Welcome Project expands the Museum’s vision to deepen connections with the community. Phase one was the restoration of and opening of the new Weston Entrance on Queen’s Park, and the second phase provided guests with free access to the Daphne Cockwell Gallery featuring First Peoples art and culture.
An excellent place for families to start is the CIBC Discovery Gallery. It is designed as a learning zone for children consisting of three main areas, Around the World, In the Earth, and Close To Home. The Museums’ collections are the inspiration for the Discovery Gallery. It allows children to interact with artifacts, costumes, study fossils or meteorites, and dig for dinosaur bones. The Patrick and Barbara Keenan Family Gallery of Hands-on Biodiversity give visitors a glimpse of the intricate relationships of all living things and how they work together in nature. There is a crawl-thru fox’s den, touchable beaver pelts, snakeskin, shark’s jaw, and a mixed forest to identify local plants and animals. The Gallery has trained facilitators, tons of touchable displays, a massive assortment of interactive exhibits, and photo-ops.
The second floor is home to the Natural History Gallery. Dinosaur bones, skeletons, bats, and birds are just some of the collections of animals displayed. The Life in Crisis: Schad Gallery of Biodiversity educates visitors on endangered species and the importance of the causes of extinction. The Schad Gallery also works to promote the conservation of biodiversity on Earth. Some endangered species amazingly displayed in the Collections are the giant panda, polar bear, White Rino, Canadian coral, and leatherback turtle. A large aquarium with live invertebrates and fish displays the coral reef. There is even the skeleton of a dodo bird.
The Gallery of Birds is an extensive and impressive collection of current and birds from centuries ago. A huge glass-encased display called “Birds in flight” with dioramas and stuffed birds, including a giant albatross to a tiny hummingbird gives visitors a fantastic, diverse exhibit. Be brave and tour the Bat Cave home to bats, snakes, spiders, and other creatures of the night. Examine hundreds of feathers, nests, eggs, and birds from Canada and from around the world.
The James and Louise Temerty Galleries of the Age of Dinosaurs is home to Jurassic World, where “Gordo,” the 90-foot long Barosaurus the herbivore, lives. He is the largest dinosaur exhibited in Canada and measures 27 metres long The ROM dinosaur collection includes well-known favourites such as the T Rex, Stegosaurus, and a Triceratops. Most of the skeletons originate from the fossil fields of Alberta, Canada. The collection represents life from the Jurassic to the Cretaceous periods, including life on the land, sea, and in the air.
Galleries of Africa: Egypt has a magnificent collection, including many artifacts dating from 4000 BC to 500 AD. Try to decipher the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Visit the incredible array of mummies, both human and animal, along with many elaborate painted mummy cases. There is a Bust of Cleopatra dating back to 47 BC to 30 BC. Step back in ancient times and learn about the Nubian civilization that flourished along the Nile Valley in the Nubian Gallery. Apparently, they were the main rival to Egypt.
The Eaton Gallery is home to ancient Roman Culture with the most extensive collection of ancient artifacts in Canada, featuring over 500 items ranging from Roman jewelry to painted portraits and marble pieces. The Gallery of Byzantium guides visitors through the fall of the Roman Empire, the Medieval Crusades, and the final conquest of the Turks.
There are many more excellent Galleries reflecting history from around the world to visit.
The ROM offers many fantastic programs to help educate the community. School programs are available both virtually and with in-person visits. The ROM at Home program includes Ask ROM Anything, allowing kids age 8-14+ to learn secrets of the ROM collections from ROM technicians and curators. Ontario’s Backyard Birds introduces visitors to their local backyard birds. Indigenous Voices has Indigenous guests and educators tell stories about ancestral objects and customs. Numerous games are available for fun learning challenges like Astro-Miners (blast through the asteroids to get the minerals) or Pyramid Party( build your pyramid to the sun but watch out, Sekhmet!).
The ROM’s mandate is to “Connect with Art, Culture, and Nature” and ensure the experience is open to the whole community. The ROM provides many features to ensure the inclusivity of all guests. Some of the services offered to visitors include an accessibility map, wheelchairs, sensory tours, American Sign Language interpreted events, Sensory-friendly Guide, Assisted Listening Devices, and even Tours for Visitors with Dementia. Service animals are welcome, and attendants supporting a person with disabilities receive free admission.
The Rom is filled with excitement, adventure, and fun for everyone. History and all its stories are waiting to be told when spending the day at the ROM.
Check out Toronto Islands Park and Centreville Amusement Park which is in Toronto ON too.
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