Come and meet the biggest dinosaur in Canada, handle real meteorites and try on costumes from around the world.
Complete with a bat cave, a comprehensive dinosaur collection and art from all over the world, it's hard not to feel enthused at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). The museum covers a wide range of subject matter, with the mosaics of global cultures which greet you at the entrance reflecting what you’ll find inside.
The ROM opened in 1912 across a number of sites and focused on world culture and natural history. Nowadays, the artifacts have all been gathered under one roof and split into three sections: the Natural History, World Cultures and the Hands-On areas. Once in the museum you can find free tours of both the permanent collection and special exhibits led by knowledgeable volunteers.
The Natural History section is on the second floor of the museum. This is where you’ll come across the 27.5-metre Barosaurus, the largest dinosaur skeleton in the country, as well as a number of other dinosaurs and animals from the Ice Age. It’s also worth having a peek into the bat cave to see just how many bat species there are in the world!
The World Culture galleries comprise the biggest part of the permanent collection and are spread over three floors. Artifacts from the ancient worlds of Africa, East Asia, Europe and other parts of the globe are presented for perusal at your leisure. Highlights include the stone coffin from 800 BC which belonged to Djedmaatesankh, an Ancient Egyptian woman.
The Hands-On space is a great place for the kids. Here you can dress yourselves up in clothing from a number of different cultures and handle ancient fossils and meteorites.
At any given time there are also temporary exhibitions running, so it’s worth checking the website to see what’s on during your visit.
The ROM is located to the north of Queen’s Park on the University of Toronto campus. The closest stations are St George and Museum. The museum is open daily except for Christmas Day, and is also open to adults on Friday nights in May and June for live concerts. Concessions apply and infants can enter for free – check the website for a detailed price guide and list of events.
