News Releases
Family Day Long Weekend at the ROM
Fun and educational programming included free with admission from February 16 to 18, 2008
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), is celebrating Ontario’s newest statutory holiday, Family Day, with special programming centered around dazzling dinosaurs and wicked weather from Saturday, February 16 to Monday, February 18, 2008. Families can explore the ROM’s many galleries and enjoy a variety of fun programming and special guests, such as a visit from Global News meteorologist Anthony Farnell, all included free with Museum admission.
“What better way to pass a day with loved ones than playing and learning together?” said William Thorsell, Director and CEO of the ROM. “This first-ever Family Day, the ROM is proud to offer great value for working families with interactive, educational activities everyone can enjoy whether they’re five or fifty-five.”
To kick off the Family Day Long Weekend festivities, the ROM is displaying a giant life-sized model of a Barosaurus made from 10,000 balloons! The 90-foot (27-metre) original piece of art is named “Gertie” the Balloonosaurus and is a companion for the ROM’s famed “Gordo” the Barosaurus, the largest dinosaur ever to go on permanent display in Canada. “Gertie” is created by balloon performance artist Sean Rooney and will be constructed and installed in the Hyacinth Gloria Chen Crystal Court during the afternoon of Friday, February 15. The completed Balloonosaurus will be officially unveiled at 4:00 pm and will be displayed through Monday, February 18 only.
The ROM’s special Family Day Long Weekend programming runs from Saturday, February 16 to Monday, February 18, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. The Weather Zone features demonstration stations where kids can discover fascinating trivia such as what causes extreme weather and natural disasters, like tornados and tsunamis, and how the weather brought about the extinction of the dinosaurs. They will also learn about climate change and how weather affects where we live and what we wear. For a truly astronomical experience, on Saturday, February 16 and Sunday, February 17, kids can crawl inside the inflatable Star Lab dome to learn about weather while looking at the night sky.
Special guest Global News meteorologist Anthony Farnell will perform live presentations at the ROM at 1:00 and 2:00 pm on Monday, February 18 to demonstrate how he analyzes weather information using cool technologies like radar, satellite, temperature readings and Global's own forecast model to accurately forecast the weather across Ontario.
The Dino Activity Area is a hands-on learning adventure all about dinosaurs. Budding palaeontologists can touch real fossils and learn about the ancient creatures they came from. They can also help build a huge dinosaur mural and even construct their own dino sculptures. At the Make and Take Stations, kids can create and take home their own works of art. On Saturday, February 16 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm, author Hugh Brewster will sign copies of his book, Breakout Dinosaurs: Canada's Coolest, Scariest Ancient Creatures - Return!, inspired by the ROM’s renowned palaeontology collection.
Families are invited to see the dinosaurs for themselves in the ROM’s new permanent James and Louise Temerty Galleries of the Age of Dinosaurs and the Gallery of the Age of Mammals, located on Level 2 of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. The galleries boast over 750 specimens, including 50 dinosaur specimens, of which 25 are fully-mounted skeletons, as well as 30 fossil mammal skeletons representing the diversity of life during the Age of Dinosaurs and the Age of Mammals.
No Family Day Long Weekend would be complete without a trip to Food Studio, the ROM’s fresh market eatery where hungry adults and kids alike can sample the special dino-themed fare.
For more information about Family Day Long Weekend at the ROM, visit www.rom.on.ca or call 416.586.8000.
Issue date:
February 8, 2008
For more information:
Media Relations
Tel.: 416.586.5547
Fax: 416.586.8022
E-mail: media@rom.on.ca
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