Royal Ontario Museum Blog
Monthly Archive: December
From the Field: Arrival in Churchill, Manitoba
July 18, 2011 – Welcome to Churchill!
We arrive from Winnipeg by twin turboprop early this evening, after the usual minor delays and frustrations,… pick up our 4×4 vehicle, get settled in at the wonderful new Churchill Northern Studies Centre facility and spend a few hours showing two novice crew members some of the nearby tundra features, including a splendid extended sunset (officially at 10:07 PM, but with a beautifully long prelude).
Summerasaurs Interactive: Ask a Palaeontologist
Dr. David Evans on-site in southern Alberta
Hydraulophones at the ROM – Making Water Sing!
The golden days of summer just wouldn’t be the same without water – going to the pool, eating popsicles, making a slip’n’slide across the back yard with a sprinkler and a plastic tarp – but have you ever used water to make MUSIC?
Summerasaurus Part III: The Jacketing Process
Mark Farmer recently returned from an expedition to the badlands of southern Alberta with Dr. David Evans, Associate Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the ROM, in search of dinosaurs. Join us over the course of the next month as Mark and Dr. Evans put up their notes from the field, detailing discoveries, how dinosaurs are found and excavated, life in the field and more.
Look Up! Annual August Meteor Showers Begin
First Glimpse of 2011 Perseid Meteor Shower. (NASA/MSFC/Meteoroid Environment Office)
A look to the skies tonight will be a larger treat than in past years as the Perseid meteor showers begin their yearly August show in the night skies. Unfortunately this year the peak of the show will be on August 12, when a full moon is scheduled, so viewing will be hampered.
Summerasaurus Part II: A Day in the Quarry
Mark Farmer recently returned from an expedition to the badlands of southern Alberta with Dr. David Evans, Associate Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the ROM, in search of dinosaurs. Join us over the course of the next month as Mark and Dr. Evans put up their notes from the field, detailing discoveries, how dinosaurs are found and excavated, life in the field and more.
From the Field: The Tell Madaba Archaeological Project…Artifacts galore!
By Daniel Kwan, Gallery Facillitator and Volunteer
I found what looks like a tiny “caterpillar” in my home. What is it?
This is my second posting that takes a closer look at some of the critters that share our spaces. Here I examine one of our most common household guests, the carpet beetle. The larvae look like tiny, furry, ‘caterpillars’.
Larva of a carpet beetle, family Dermestidae, also known as skin or hide beetles. Drawing: copyright ROM.
From the Field: Southern Alberta Dinosaur Project 2011 – Prospecting for new dinos!
July 10-12: More Surprises from the South Side
Changing of the guard – Schad Gallery welcomes North America’s largest land animal
A long awaited addition to the Royal Ontario Museum was installed today in the Life in Crisis: Schad Gallery of Biodiversity. Our new North American Plains Bison (Bison bison bison) wears his shaggy winter coat and munches on grass, a key component of his vegetarian diet. Weighing about 360 kg (or 800 lbs) today, this large specimen was prepared for the ROM by the same taxidermist who prepared the White Rhino also on display in the Schad Gallery.
