Royal Ontario Museum Blog

Monthly Archive: December

Trees for Life in Lakefield

Posted: February 8, 2018 - 10:46 , by Hellen Fu
Children playing in a large tree

Guest blog written by Environmental Visual Communication student Fenella Hood

When Rebecca Rose left her home in Leslieville and moved her three young children to the quaint village of Lakefield, she felt secure in the belief that she was improving their lot in life. Then one day a notice was slipped through her door from the Township of Selwyn announcing her next-door neighbour's severance application to build a second house and increase his selling power. His small corner lot boasts a stand of seven mature trees that will need to be cut down to make room for the build. “It felt like being kicked in the stomach. I don't want those trees to die, and I don't want to tell my kids.”

Wu Dacheng: ROM Chinese Jades at the Suzhou Museum

Posted: February 1, 2018 - 15:35 , by Diana Lu
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As part of a special exhibition entitled Collections of the Wu Family From Suzhou in the Qing Dynasty (December 16, 2017, to March 11, 2018), the Royal Ontario Museum lent 28 Chinese jades to the Suzhou Museum. This exhibition, curated by the Suzhou Museum, constitutes the second in the series of Suzhou Collectors from the Qing dynasty. The ROM is amongst several lenders that contributed to this special exhibition.

 

The life cycle of a new fossil: Meet the ancient cousin of the earthworm

Posted: January 19, 2018 - 12:35 , by royal
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An artist reconstruction of Kootenayscolex barbarensis

By Karma Nanglu

Make Plastic Reduction Part of Your 2018 New Year's Resolutions

Posted: December 29, 2017 - 12:55 , by ROM
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Plastic pollution found at Turkey Point on Lake Erie. Photo credit: Cristina Bergman

Guest blog written by 2017 Environmental Visual Communication student Cristina Bergman

Every year, 10,000 tonnes of plastic enters the Great Lakes. Imagine 55 jumbo jets of plastic crash landing in the lakes each year. In this province alone, 3 billion plastic bottles are sold annually, but only half are recycled. The other 1.5 billion bottles end up in landfills or littering the environment. As the only province that borders the Great Lakes, Ontario has an obligation to protect this vast, irreplaceable resource. But is the province stepping up?

Indigenous Education Month at the ROM

Posted: December 21, 2017 - 11:11 , by royal
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A teacher explaining a painting to students in the First Peoples Gallery

By Summer Catt, Kiowa Wind Memorial Indigenous Youth Intern

Habelia, a fossil predator with a “multi-tool” head

Posted: December 19, 2017 - 13:15 , by royal
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Artistic reconstruction of Habelia optata. Credit: Courtesy of Joanna Liang, © Royal Ontario Museum

The Cambrian Burgess Shale arthropod Habelia optata illustrates the uncanny origin of horseshoe crabs, scorpions and spiders

Top 5 Blogs of 2017

Posted: December 18, 2017 - 10:23 , by ROM
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Have a look back at the most popular blogs of 2017

The Captivity Debate: Should We Keep Marine Mammals in Tanks?

Posted: December 15, 2017 - 11:10 , by ROM
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Chester - a false killer whale at the Vancouver Aquarium. (Credit: Vancouver Aquarium)

Guest blog written by Environmental Visual Communication student Adil Darvesh

In November 2016, Qila and Aurora, two Beluga whales at Vancouver Aquarium, died due to an unknown toxin in their tanks. News of their deaths added to an ongoing debate: Should humans keep marine mammals in captivity for the sake of education and entertainment? Read this blog to learn more about the heated discussion.

8 things to know about the ROM’s reopened Weston Entrance

Posted: December 11, 2017 - 12:42 , by royal
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Rendering of ROM Heritage Weston Queen's Park Entrance

With the reopening of the heritage Weston Entrance, the ROM is literally and symbolically throwing its doors open even wider and welcoming all audiences into the Museum. Here are 8 things to know about the Weston Entrance.

Canada 150 - Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia - table, crock and plate

Posted: December 11, 2017 - 10:39 , by ROM
blue teapot

Continuing my geographically rooted exploration of the Canadian Decorative Arts Collection, as the year of the dubious Canada 150 draws to a close, I come to the West, and am going to highlight some objects from our collection here from each of Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia all in one post.