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Explore the Collections of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto
Published by Anna Shevchenko, Writer
Country: Canada 
The Experience
The Royal Ontario Museum, known as the “ROM,” is a museum of world culture and natural history located in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1912, the ROM opened in 1914 near the University of Toronto, and remained under the University’s control and management until 1968. Since then, the Royal Ontario Museum has been an independent organization. Over the years, the ROM underwent several expansions and constructions, the most notable one being the renovation project named Renaissance ROM that began in 2002.
The Michael Lee-Chin Crystal (known simply as the Crystal) designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, replaced the old Terrace Galleries. The first phase of the reconstruction opened to the public in 2005, with the Crystal becoming available to visitors in 2007. It exemplifies Deconstructivist architecture, and is made of 25 percent glass and 75 percent aluminum. The Crystal is where the main entrance, a gift shop, a restaurant, a cafeteria, and several galleries of the Museum are located.
The ROM houses more than six million items in its forty galleries, and two of those are the Natural History Galleries and the World Culture Galleries. The Natural History Galleries house collections and samples of various animals of the world, and you will find several hundred bird specimens, a gallery of endangered animals (like polar bear and giant panda), a display of extinct species, and collections of gems, gold, and other minerals from around the world. The World Culture Galleries hold a collection of fabrics and textiles with garments from different world cultures; and the CIBC Discovery Gallery offers a number of hands-on activities for younger visitors, like trying on armour costumes or digging for fossils.
The ROM has one regular museum store, a special exhibition boutique dedicated to visiting collections, and a ROMkids store with many museum-inspired interactive gifts, toys, games, and books. A recently renovated children’s favourite, the Bat Cave, displays bats and other animals that typically exist in caves, such as spiders and snakes. Louise Temerty Galleries of the Age of Dinosaurs is a must-see for dinosaur skeletons and displays of early species. The World Culture Galleries dedicate four galleries to China.
The ROM boasts one of the largest collections of Chinese artifacts outside of China. There is a gallery of Egyptian culture (mummy cases and the mummy of Antjau are a must-see), and galleries with several hundred objects from several periods of Ancient Greece, ranging from 3,000 BC to 700 BC. Another collection depicts the culture of aboriginal peoples in Canada, and there is a gallery of Korea (the only collection in the country), a gallery about Japan, a South Asian gallery, and a gallery of the Middle East. Other parts of the world represented are: Africa, the Americas and Asia-Pacific, and Europe.
For food, check out Food Studio with family-friendly meals like pizza and salads, as well as stations with ethnic cuisine inspired by the exotic exhibitions of the ROM. For more upscale dining, visit c5 Restaurant Lounge, which offers five star menu and award-winning interior. Located at the top of the Crystal, c5 boasts an excellent view of the city of Toronto. For those choosing to bag their own lunch, Lunch Room is open on the weekends, and there are vending machines with snacks and soft drinks.
The Michael Lee-Chin Crystal (known simply as the Crystal) designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, replaced the old Terrace Galleries. The first phase of the reconstruction opened to the public in 2005, with the Crystal becoming available to visitors in 2007. It exemplifies Deconstructivist architecture, and is made of 25 percent glass and 75 percent aluminum. The Crystal is where the main entrance, a gift shop, a restaurant, a cafeteria, and several galleries of the Museum are located.
The ROM houses more than six million items in its forty galleries, and two of those are the Natural History Galleries and the World Culture Galleries. The Natural History Galleries house collections and samples of various animals of the world, and you will find several hundred bird specimens, a gallery of endangered animals (like polar bear and giant panda), a display of extinct species, and collections of gems, gold, and other minerals from around the world. The World Culture Galleries hold a collection of fabrics and textiles with garments from different world cultures; and the CIBC Discovery Gallery offers a number of hands-on activities for younger visitors, like trying on armour costumes or digging for fossils.
The ROM has one regular museum store, a special exhibition boutique dedicated to visiting collections, and a ROMkids store with many museum-inspired interactive gifts, toys, games, and books. A recently renovated children’s favourite, the Bat Cave, displays bats and other animals that typically exist in caves, such as spiders and snakes. Louise Temerty Galleries of the Age of Dinosaurs is a must-see for dinosaur skeletons and displays of early species. The World Culture Galleries dedicate four galleries to China.
The ROM boasts one of the largest collections of Chinese artifacts outside of China. There is a gallery of Egyptian culture (mummy cases and the mummy of Antjau are a must-see), and galleries with several hundred objects from several periods of Ancient Greece, ranging from 3,000 BC to 700 BC. Another collection depicts the culture of aboriginal peoples in Canada, and there is a gallery of Korea (the only collection in the country), a gallery about Japan, a South Asian gallery, and a gallery of the Middle East. Other parts of the world represented are: Africa, the Americas and Asia-Pacific, and Europe.
For food, check out Food Studio with family-friendly meals like pizza and salads, as well as stations with ethnic cuisine inspired by the exotic exhibitions of the ROM. For more upscale dining, visit c5 Restaurant Lounge, which offers five star menu and award-winning interior. Located at the top of the Crystal, c5 boasts an excellent view of the city of Toronto. For those choosing to bag their own lunch, Lunch Room is open on the weekends, and there are vending machines with snacks and soft drinks.
When to Go to Royal Ontario Museum
Odds n' Ends
The ROM is open Monday through Thursday and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The hours on Friday are from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The ROM is open during all public holidays except Christmas Day.
Adult regular admission is $24. Student (15 to 17 years, with ID) and Senior (65 years and older) entrance is $21. Children (4 to 14 years) admission is $16. Children 3 years and younger can visit the Museum for free. Visiting collections usually cost $7 on top of regular ticket price for adults, students, and seniors, and $3.50 extra for children. Admission to permanent galleries of the ROM is half price on Fridays starting 4:30 p.m., and FREE every Wednesday from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. If you plan on visiting other museums in Toronto, consider getting Toronto CityPass, which offers the admission to the ROM plus four other attractions around the city. The cost for adults is $59, and $39 kids (4 to 12 years).
There are several paid parking lots available in close proximity to the ROM. Parking in downtown Toronto is quite expensive, so it is best to take public transportation when visiting the ROM. The ROM is walking distance from the TTC subway stops of Museum and St. George.
Adult regular admission is $24. Student (15 to 17 years, with ID) and Senior (65 years and older) entrance is $21. Children (4 to 14 years) admission is $16. Children 3 years and younger can visit the Museum for free. Visiting collections usually cost $7 on top of regular ticket price for adults, students, and seniors, and $3.50 extra for children. Admission to permanent galleries of the ROM is half price on Fridays starting 4:30 p.m., and FREE every Wednesday from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. If you plan on visiting other museums in Toronto, consider getting Toronto CityPass, which offers the admission to the ROM plus four other attractions around the city. The cost for adults is $59, and $39 kids (4 to 12 years).
There are several paid parking lots available in close proximity to the ROM. Parking in downtown Toronto is quite expensive, so it is best to take public transportation when visiting the ROM. The ROM is walking distance from the TTC subway stops of Museum and St. George.
Places to Stay Nearby
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The Park Hyatt Toronto is set in Toronto's Yorkville, a short stroll to Bata Shoe Museum, St. Basil's Church and Robarts Library. The area is ... 0 miles away
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Books and DVDs
- Bold Visions: The Architecture of the Royal Ontario Museum
- If architecture fails, if it is pedestrian and lacks imagination and power, it tells only one story, that of its own making: how it was built, detailed, financed. But a great building, like great literature or poetry or music, can tell the story of the human soul. It can make us see the world in a wholly new way, change it forever." In 2007, the noted American architect Daniel Libeskind, quoted above, completed the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, his critically acclaimed addition to Canada's Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). Situated among the ivy-covered colleges of the University of Toronto and a cluster of other cultural institutions that were transformed by Toronto's architectural reawakening early in the twenty-first century, Libeskind's new blockbuster exhibition space restores the logic of the museum's original Beaux Arts master plan. This volume analyzes the evolution of ROM's architecture and illuminates the buildings, old and new.
Elsewhere on the Web
- ROM official website
- Information of ticket prices, exhibitons, family and kid events.
- CityPass discount ticket
- Get details on the CityPass multi-attraction pass to see several top attractions (including the ROM) at a reduced price.
- ROM profiled on Toronto.com
- Write-up and review in the art and culture section of Toronto.com official tourism site for the city.
Media References
- ROM's mummy babies (newspaper)
- Take a look inside the ROM's secured Egypt department storage room with teacher and Egyptologist Gayle Gibson and two baby mummies.
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