Behind-the-scenes
Monthly Archive: December Behi
Not just for show: how and why museum specimens are collected
Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication student Samantha Stephens
The sign on the door seemed quite appropriate. “Abandon all hope ye who enter here.” I imagine that, as this quote from Dante’s Inferno indicates, this might be what hell feels like. As this last barrier swings open and the dim room is revealed, the swarm of hundreds of tiny creatures moving across the concrete floor completes that vision. However, for some of the ROM’s tireless workers, this environment is heaven. Here resides the dermestid beetle colony. These ravenous beetles are eagerly seeking their next meal. Manoeuvring themselves into the crevices of skeletons, they strip the flesh from delicate specimens with more precision and speed than the nimblest of human fingers.
Sebastian Kvist: Leech Hunter
Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication student Sally McIntyre
When most people think about the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), they think of dinosaurs or mummies. However, it is the invertebrates that live on the ocean floor and crawl through the soil that make up the most diverse collection at the ROM. So who holds the daunting position of keeper of this vast museum collection? Meet Dr. Sebastian Kvist: Leech Hunter.
Clay sealings from Edfu, Egypt in the Greek & Roman collection
Over a century after they were acquired Ptolemaic artifacts at the Royal Ontario Museum, Greek & Roman collection, get new homes
To X-Ray an Egg: Behind the Scenes of Empty Skies
“That egg is approximately one hundred and forty-four years old,” says Brad Millen, a technician who works in the ROM’s Natural History collections. Suddenly the large speckled shell that sits in the palm of my hand feels just a little bit heavier. I feel the weight of its place in the world - it is the egg of a passenger pigeon, and its species has been extinct for a hundred years.
Empty Skies: Behind-the-Scenes - Recreating Passenger Pigeon Habitat
Come behind-the-scenes with environmental visual communication students/guest bloggers Justine DiCesare and Vincent Luk to take a look using photos and video to see how the flowers and scenery were created for the new exhibit: Empty Skies: The Passenger Pigeon Legacy.
First Peek at Empty Skies: The Legacy of the Passenger Pigeon
The ROM's latest special exhibit, Empty Skies: The Legacy of the Passenger Pigeon swoops in this Saturday, August 23. Get an exclusive first glimpse at the behind-the-scenes of the exhibit being installed!
Up on the Rooftop - The ROM's Green Roof
Earlier this summer, a group of Torontonian researchers and PhD students were granted rare access to the ROM’s green roof, “Liza’s Garden” to survey the biodiversity, take soil samples, and to look for changes in the vegetation profile.
My Experience as a Web Intern at the ROM
Jaime Clifton-Ross reflects on her Summer 2014 internship at the ROM.
Conservation Intern Spotlight: Natasa Krsmanovic
This spotlight post--featuring ROM paper conservation intern Natasa Krsmanovic--highlights her background, shares her perspective on current paper conservation practices, and discusses her treatment projects at the museum.
Conservation Intern Spotlight: Emily Ricketts
This spotlight post--featuring ROM conservation intern Emily Ricketts--highlights her background, shares her perspective on current artefact conservation practices, and discusses her treatment projects at the museum.
