Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Posted: January 3, 2012 - 09:41 , by Sarah Elliott

Here for ROM for the Holidays, it’s the long-awaited return of the Earth Rangers Studio Winter Wonderland in Life in Crisis: the Schad Gallery of Biodiversity!

A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight... (It took so long to hand-paint all these trees! My wrist hurt for ages.)

For the past three years, we’ve been adding things to our Canadian Winter Wonderland, and this year it’s better than ever. As in other years, visitors can walk through the winter wonderland to identify animal tracks, but there are a few new surprises this year for people who’ve visited before.

Hey, weren't you lost?

First off, we’ve added an entirely new ecosystem this year.  Welcome to the Grasslands!  This face may look familiar, but this is isn’t our lost baby bison; this is his twin, safe at home in his native grasslands.  The lost baby bison cutout is still wandering somewhere in the museum. Can you follow the clues to find him and enter the contest?

Oh, now who's been walking through my nice clean snow? If you think you know, post an answer in the comments!

There are some old familiar faces, some new things to touch, and many more little details to spot in the forest.  Can you find the flying squirrel hidden in a tree?  How about the hibernating frog and rattlesnake? The wolf has moved from his hiding spot to a place of honour in the boreal forest, as he tracks a meal to the beaver dam.  Will the beaver family be safe, or will he find a way to the lodge in the middle of the pond?

Baffled by the beaver dam

This may be the last year of the Winter Wonderland at the ROM, so be sure to  check it out during the rest of ROM for the Holidays (until January 8, 2012).  If you’re too far away, you can always check out more of the photos, as well as some from the 2010 Winter Wonderland  on my Flickr page. We’ve put a lot of work into it over the last three years, and we think the results are worth it.  We even had one family tell us that they come back every year just for the Winter Wonderland.  Come in and make some memories!

"I have a feeling there's a clue around here somewhere..."