New Natural History Galleries opening in December 2008
The Teck Cominco Suite of Galleries: Earth's Treasures, scheduled to open at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in December 2008, showcases the ROM’s exceptional specimens of minerals, gems, rocks and meteorites, a collection among the finest in North America. The 6,900 square-foot combined gallery space fills the length of the Weston Family Wing on Level 2 and is divided into the Vale Inco Limited Gallery of Minerals, the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Gallery and the Gallery of Gems and Gold. The fascinating displays are contextualized and illuminated by over 40 interactive touch stations, compelling video exhibits and engrossing information on Canada’s mining industry.
The Vale Inco Limited Gallery of Minerals presents approximately 2,300 minerals, rocks and meteorites, exploring such areas as the classification of minerals, their physical and scientific properties, causes of mineral colour and the geological environments necessary for spectacular mineral growth. This gallery features the ROM’s meteorite collection, including a 1.1 kilogram lunar specimen, one of the biggest lunar meteorites on display in the world. The Canadian Mining Hall of Fame Gallery showcases the biographies and personal stories of 130 inductees through a fully bilingual, interactive video wall that explains how mining touches every part of our lives.
The Gallery of Gems and Gold presents as its inaugural exhibition Light & Stone: Gems from the Collection of Michael Scott. This special exhibition features approximately 200 stunning jewelry pieces, gemstones cut and unset, as well as modern interpretations of gemstones as art. Light & Stone is on display for a one-year period and showcases the private gem collection of Michael M. Scott, a collection with few rivals in the world outside of the royal families.
The suite of galleries is named for the mining company Teck Cominco Limited, whose generous contribution to the Renaissance ROM campaign was the largest corporate gift in the Museum’s history. In addition to the Teck Cominco Suite of Galleries: Earth's Treasures, this gift helps create the Teck Cominco Endowed Chair in Mineralogy and the Teck Cominco Digital Education Module in Earth Sciences.
The opening of the Teck Suite is part of the ROM’s A Season of Gems, which also features the exhibition The Nature of Diamonds, presented by De Beers Canada. Diamonds opens on October 25, 2008 and is on display until March 22, 2009.