Hands-on Galleries

Patrick and Barbara Keenan Family Gallery of Hands-on Biodiversity

Level 2, Philosophers’ Walk Wing
Biodiversity is everywhere, even in downtown Toronto! The Patrick and Barbara Keenan Family Gallery introduces visitors of all ages to the complex relationships among all living things. This interactive gallery is based on the Museum's collections and research, offering families and school groups an excellent venue to examine and handle hundreds of specimens. The gallery was developed with the participation of leading environmental organizations and animated by gallery facilitators and imaginative programming.

Visitors can explore diverse environments showing the amazing variety and interdependence of plants and animals and try on field gear and test equipment used by our own researchers. Don’t leave without spotting the "living" displays—mossy frogs from the jungles of Vietnam, fish found in a typical southern Ontario stream, and bees flying in from outdoors in the gallery’s active beehive.

Featured within the gallery is Tallgrass Prairies and Savannas—a dynamic display that highlights the plight of one of the most biologically diverse yet jeopardized habitats in Ontario. This display features examples of the flora and fauna that exist in these ecological regions and the current efforts by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to conserve and restore them. Interactive tabletop displays, wall activities, and eight thematic drawers that highlight specimens, explore a variety of tallgrass prairie issues and stories.

The Keenan Family Gallery is generously supported by the Richard Ivey Foundation, The Catherine and Maxwell Meighen Foundation, the Department of Museum Volunteers, Toshiba of Canada Limited, The Canada Trust Friends of the Environment Foundation, The Chawkers Foundation, the George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation, Mountain Equipment Co-op, and The E. W. Bickle Foundation. The Tallgrass Prairies and Savannas exhibit is supported by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

Volunteers Needed!
Share your interest in discovery and join our volunteer team! The CIBC Discovery Gallery and the Keenan Family Gallery rely on enthusiastic and committed volunteers to assist visitors in explorations of the ROM's hands-on collections.
Interested?