Sphinx Sand Sculpture kicks off ROMkids Weekends!

Hands-on activities, amazing artifacts and performances every weekend this summer

This weekend, July 26 - 27, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) officially launches its ROMkids Weekends, celebrating summer in the city! From Tuesday, July 22 to Thursday, July 24 sand sculpture artist Sandi ‘Castle’ Stirling will create a 10-foot-high sand sculpture of a sphinx from 15 tons of sand! The sculpture will be on the ROM’s Bloor Street Plaza until Sunday, July 27.

This outdoor installation marks the beginning of ROMkids Weekends running until September 1. Every Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm the ROM features fun for the whole family with hands-on activities, crafts and performances inspired by a different ROM gallery and exhibition each weekend. Also, a special rarely-seen ROM artifact is brought out of storage for one weekend only. This weekend the ROM celebrates Scotiabank Caribana! Groove to the tunes of a steel drum band and make your own Caribana-style mask to take home, all FREE with admission!

ROMkids Weekends Schedule:

July 26 – 27, The ROM Celebrates Scotiabank Caribana: Enjoy live calypso music performances from noon to 1:00 pm on the ROM Plaza and make a Caribana-inspired mask and wear it while you visit Roots to Rhythm: Caribana Art Exhibit.

August 2 – 4, Darwin Long Weekend: Meet the same live reptiles that inspired Darwin, and then make your own Galapagos Islands tortoise craft to take home. Also, don’t miss your last chance to experience Darwin: The Evolution Revolution, a special exhibition with a family activity area featuring touchable real specimens, wearable costumes and a kid-sized replica of the HMS Beagle.

August 9 – 10, Out of this World Weekend: Crawl inside the ROM’s inflatable starlab to view the night sky and learn all about the stars and planets. Amaze your friends with your very own star finder made by you. See a real Martian meteorite and learn all about rocks from space!

August 16 – 17, India Weekend: Get your own henna tattoo then enjoy performances by Sampradaya and Menaka Thakkar dance companies. Learn some of their toe-tapping techniques after the show.

August 23 – 24, Archaeology Weekend: Be the first to see the ROM’s crystal skull – never before put on display! Dig for dinosaur bones, learn to read Mayan glyphs and make your own turquoise mosaic mask.

August 30 – September 1, Egypt Long Weekend: Learn how to write your name in hieroglyphs, make a scarab amulet and decipher secret ancient messages.

For more information about ROMkids Weekends, visit www.rom.on.ca or call 416.586.8000.

All programming is subject to change.

ROMkids Weekends is generously supported by Vanbots Construction Corporation.