Bring Dad to the ROM this Father's Day for a special day exploring art, culture and nature. With engaging storytelling and hands-on activities, you’ll be making wonderful memories throughout the galleries.
Activities run from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Free with Museum admission.
Storytime with Fay & Fluffy: Reading is FUNdamental! Drag performance artists Fay Slift and Fluffy Soufflé invite you to a special gathering with books and fun! With readings from culturally diverse books, Fay and Fluffy provide an inclusive environment for everyone, especially families with LGBTQ2S parent(s) and gender variant children. (11:30 am & 2:30 pm)
Stories from the North: Take in tales from the North with readings by Indigenous authors Deborah Kigjugalik Webster and Roselynn Akulukjuk. (1:30 & 3:30 pm)
Deborah Kigjugalik Webster grew up in Baker Lake, Nunavut, where she loved to learn about her Inuit culture and heritage. She has a degree in Anthropology from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and works as an Inuit heritage researcher and author. The lack of published children’s literature featuring Inuit content compelled Deborah to write Akilak’s Adventure for her daughters, Sonja Akilak and Nicole Amaruq. Akilak's Adventure has been shortlisted for the 2018 First Nation Communities READ Award.
Roselynn Akulukjuk was born in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, in the Canadian Arctic. In 2012, Roselynn moved to Toronto to pursue a career in film and attend the Toronto Film School, where she fell in love with being behind the camera. After finishing her studies and working in Toronto, Roselynn returned home to Nunavut, where she began working with Taqqut Productions, an Inuit-owned production company located in the capital of Nunavut, Iqaluit. In 2015, Roselynn wrote and directed her first film, the live-action and puppetry short The Owl and the Lemming, on which her book by the same title is based. Her film won Best Animation at the 2016 American Indian Film Festival.
Pride Toronto Family Lounge - Head to the family lounge for some arts and entertainment, or just to take a few minutes to relax:
- Join Pride Toronto and contribute to a collaborative art piece that will be featured at Family Pride
- Watch a mystifying performanceby magician Mark Correia, a world-renowned comedian, magician, and world record holder with over seventeen years of experience. He has been nominated for a “Best Magician Award” from A1 Radio, and has been featured on every major Canadian broadcasting network. (Performance at 12:30 pm)
Pop-Up Planetarium: Come stargazing and explore the constellations with ROM teachers in our new pop-up planetarium. Space is limited – first come, first served. (~20-minute shows starting at 11:30 am, 12:00, 12:30, 1:00, 2:00, 2:30, 3:00, & 3:30 pm)
Card Creations: Create a one-of-a-kind card for someone special.
Dads in the Wild: Male seahorses carry their eggs in a brood pouch in their abdomen, sea spiders carry eggs on their legs, and giant water bugs carry eggs on their back. These are just some examples of fathers in the natural world who display incredible acts of parenting. Find out just how amazing dads can be with an exciting variety of specimens from the ROM’s collections.
ROM ♥ DAD: Visit the ROM Photostation, say cheese and capture a fun snapshot of the family!
Learn to Camp: Venture into the Canadian wilderness! Learn how to camp from the experts. Program Partner: Parks Canada.
Meet the Aquarium Keeper: Aquarium keeper Sheldon John explains how he keeps our coral reef thriving. (11:00 am–1:00 pm)
Lost at Sea & Oral History: Sail into the icy heart of a historical mystery! Discover how archaeologists pieced together the Franklin Expedition’s end from 19th century Inuit oral testimony, scattered artifacts, remote graves, and state-of-the-art technology.
