ROMKids

Happy 2019, here’s a dinosaur!

Continuing my New Year’s tradition of posting about a dinosaur at the start of every year (’13, ‘14, ‘15, ‘16, ‘17, ‘18), here’s a look at Zuul, our brand new time machine.

Zuul, Our Brand New Time Machine 

You could feel the darkness before you even entered the marine exhibit- it drew you in with terror. The room was dimly lit in green and blue, with the sound of the ocean whispering through the speakers.

Descending from the ceiling, as if sizing you up on the hunt were two of the most fearsome creatures to ever swim the ocean, mosasaur, and pliosaur. Their mouths were filled with destruction blades ready to rip and crunch their way through their prey. Their empty eye sockets would have been filled with lit eyes in life that would pierce your soul. Mosasaur particularly scared me- their jaws were double-hinged, allowing them to eat like snakes- all at once.

As a child, I was haunted by these prehistoric monsters, both in my dreams and in the darkness that drew me in.

***

"I want kids to cry."

I said this at an early meeting for our just opened Zuul: Life of an Armoured Dinosaur exhibit. After relaying my experience in the old marine exhibit, I explained that I wanted that type of visceral interaction to be replicated with a new audience- I wanted children to visibly express *feeling*. 

The exhibit design and palaeontology teams then mentioned that was already in the plans. I smiled, this might be something special.

***

The best museum exhibits are time machines, that make you believe you're there.

You are given every opportunity to be brought back 76 million years with Zuul. There are gorgeous murals of the world these fantastic beasts would have lived in, filled with all sorts of Cretaceous creatures, and vegetation. A giant video screen depicts Zuul in real life, full of colour and character. And of course, the centrepiece of the exhibit, a faceoff between prehistoric foes Zuul and Gorgesaurus.

But what really transported me was the sound. Dinosaurs of all sorts chirp and roar. In unison with the visuals and the animals in front of me, for a moment, I felt myself slip through time. My imagination filled in the gaps, and added in the buzz of insects, a breath of breeze, and the glint of sunlight reflected off a stream.

***

I've taken a number of laps of the space this holiday season and have been rewarded with children reenacting the standoff on display, rawring with confidence and waving their arms around as if an armoured tail. I haven't seen any children cry, but I've certainly seen them gasp in awe, their eyes eager to take in the entire scene, so they can dream about it again later.

Zuul: Life of an Armoured Dinosaur runs through May.

The Entomology collection contains millions of specimens including gorgeous butterflies, hulking beetles, and alien-like stick bugs.

It took over 1 million Madagascar Golden Orb spiders to create this cape on display in the Spiders: Fear and Fascination exhibit. 

Handwoven, and having taken over a year to complete the embroidery, this cape is simply one of the most gorgeous things I’ve ever seen.

Sadly it does not come in a hoodie variant yet, but with the leaps and bounds that entomologists and designers are making in the use of silk, we might yet see a future with a wide variety of spider garments.

ROM Reporters: T O R O N T O

ROM Reporters Isabella, Ellie, Annabelle, Yanni, Olivia, and Meghan painted this beautiful scene of City Hall! Check out how these canvases came together!

To learn more about our journey discovering the ROM, check out our posts from previous years using the links below:

You can catch all of our blogs right here on Tumblr! Check out stories from our 2015, 2016, and 2017 groups HERE!

ROM Reporters: Basketball and Dr. James Naismith

As you may know, basketball was created by James Naismith. He created the game of basketball for young athletes to play during days with cold weather. He used a peach basket for the basket and a soccer ball for the ball. A team would have nine players and would try to throw the ball in the basket to get a point. Player’s only options on offense were to pass or shoot, as they had not yet invented dribbling. On defense, player’s only options were to intercept passes and to block shots. When the ball went out of bounds, the player that touched the ball first would get possession and throw the ball in. When a player scores, a janitor would grab a ladder, climb up and get the ball. It was a slow process so, after a while, the bottoms of the peach baskets were removed.

The first basketball game was played on March 11, 1892. That day, James Naismith asked his class to play a match. It was 9 versus 9. The players all jumped for the ball and started tackling each other. There were students that received black eyes, one with a separated shoulder and one even got knocked out. It was a free for all. Naismith then added new rules to make the game much safer and they redid the game. At the end of the game, the final score was 1-0. As mentioned earlier, retrieving the ball was a slow process, until they added a small hole to the bottom of the basket so someone could poke the ball out with a stick. Later in 1906, they added metal hoops, a net, and a backboard. They also added a Spalding basketball instead of using a soccer ball.

On June 6, 1946, the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League combined to create the NBA (National Basketball Association). 30 teams compete to win the title. Many great players have made the NBA much more popular than it had been before. Michael Jordan helped make the NBA more popular by creating the dream team and winning the 1992 Olympics title. Yao Ming made the NBA more popular to Asian countries by being the first Asian basketball player to get the #1 draft pick in the 2002 draft. Many other players have changed the game of basketball and made it much more popular by creating amazing teams or duos that helped them win back-to-back NBA titles. All those ideas greatly increased the popularity of the NBA. James Naismith was born on November 6th, 1861 in Almonte, Ontario and died on November 28th, 1939 in Lawrence, Kansas. He was a very gifted gym student. Naismith was a University gym teacher and the founder and coach of the University of Kansas; unfortunately, he wasn’t a very successful coach. He also invented American football helmets.

To learn more about our journey discovering the ROM, check out our posts from previous years using the links below:

You can catch all of our blogs right here on Tumblr! Check out stories from our 2015, 2016, and 2017 groups HERE!

ROM Reporters is an introductory journalism camp run at the Royal Ontario Museum for teens. ROM Reporters blogs, snaps, and tweets their way through their adventures in science and history!

ROM Reporters: Inside the Ornithology Collection

Birds are everywhere, there is no region or country that doesn't have birds. Birds have been around for approximately 3.8 billion years. They have evolved to survive the harsh climates of the poles and they have also evolved to survive the scorching hot deserts of the world. ROM reporters have been given permission to go behind the scenes to see the curatorial of birds. We have learned from expert Mark Peck, how the ROM has gotten possession of thousands of birds, threats to birds, and much more.

A Look Inside Curatorial At the curatorial department of Ornithology, they have about 140,000 bird skins in their collection. The first thing we experienced was the smell. With all the skins, the room smells like chemicals and dead birds. That's because the chemicals are used to keep the bird in its original state. There was one male snowy owl who was found in 1896. He has been preserved for 122 years! But how did the ROM agent all these birds? Many birds were found dead, and kept, or given to the Museum. Others were killed and collected for sport and when laws changed, they gave them to the ROM. When the ROM revives the specimen, they stuff it with cotton and put it in the proper cupboard. The cupboards are labelled by scientific names because common names are limited by language, but scientific names are universal.

Some interesting birds in the curatorial department are goatsuckers, penguins, bee hummingbirds, snowy owls, and blue jays. Goatsuckers got their name when people never saw them eat and so assumed they sucked on goat teets. Penguins wings are very hard because it's only skin, bones, and feathers. Bee hummingbirds are the smallest bird being only 5-6 cm. That's about the size of your pinky finger! Male snowy owls are pure white, unlike females who are white and brown. Blue jays have 4 different shades of blue on their body. However, there's a dark side. Some of these magnificent beauties are being hunted.

Predator and Prey Birds are both predators and prey. For example, robins hunt worms since they are predators, but they are also prey since they are hunted by hawks, raccoons, and even your average house cat. 270 million out of an estimated 10 billion birds have been killed each year in Canada. Cats, both feral and non-feral, tall structures, and accidents on the roads are responsible for 95 percent of bird deaths in Canada. The curatorial of ornithology also had a collection of bird eggs, including an elephant bird eggs cast. Egg collecting was a big threat to the bird population. Since bird egg collecting was such a popular hobby back in the 19th to early 20th century, many bird species couldn't grow since their offspring would be stolen.

Birds have survived and adapted to multiple circumstances and instances to which other animals would have died. Seeing how many dead birds were there was saddening and showed how many birds were endangered in the past. Now the birds are used for scientific research. The time spent in the curatorial department of ornithology was an informative and interesting experience. ROM Reporters would definitely go to the curatorial department of ornithology again if given the chance.

To learn more about our journey discovering the ROM, check out our posts from previous years using the links below:

You can catch all of our blogs right here on Tumblr! Check out stories from our 2015, 2016, and 2017 groups HERE!

ROM Reporters is an introductory journalism camp run at the Royal Ontario Museum for teens. ROM Reporters blogs, snaps, and tweets their way through their adventures in science and history!

ROM Reporters: Ancient Games Revived

We had the great opportunity to unbox an Edu-kit on medieval artifacts. An Edu-kit is a case filled with unique artifacts that can be shipped anywhere in the region of Ontario. They provide students with a great learning experience outside of the museum. The best part of the medieval artifacts in our opinion was the game pieces, there were chess pieces, a seven-sided die, and some tarot cards. Our greatest interest was the old chess pieces, they motivated us to do research on the topic.

So, what did we learn? Chess originated in northern India in the 6th century. From there it spread to Persia. When the Arabs conquered Persia, the Muslim world took up chess and through the Moorish conquest of Spain, it spread to Europe. From then on, chess spread to many nations across the world. Even now, chess is a game that is known worldwide as many play to pass time.

Senet is one of the oldest board games ever. Archeologists have found parts of an ancient senet board in an Egyptian burial that dates back to the first dynasty. The age of the fragments are from up to 5118 years old. An Egyptian picture resembling a senet board was found in the tomb of Merknera and is said to originate from around 3300-2700 BC. The Edu-kit also encompassed an image of Egyptians playing senet in tombs of the 5th and 6th dynasty such as the tomb of Rasphepes. The oldest intact senet board is from the Middle Kingdom that dates between 2050 BC-1710 BC.

Finally, Hnefatafl originated in Scandinavia and most closely resembles a Roman war game called Ludus Latrunculorum. Hnefatafl was spread around Europe and even Newfoundland by the Vikings who traded and set up new settlements there. Consequently, Hnefatafl was played all around Northern Europe until the arrival of chess.

To learn more about our journey discovering the ROM, check out our posts from previous years using the links below:

You can catch all of our blogs right here on Tumblr! Check out stories from our 2015, 2016, and 2017 groups HERE!

ROM Reporters is an introductory journalism camp run at the Royal Ontario Museum for teens. ROM Reporters blogs, snaps, and tweets their way through their adventures in science and history!

ROM Reporters: Learning with Leeches!

The ROM Reporters visited Dr. Sebastian Kvist's lab at the Royal Ontario Museum to interview Danielle de Carle - a PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto. Danielle discussed leech biology and best practices regarding leech removal.

You can catch all of our blogs right here on Tumblr! Check out stories from our 2015, 2016, and 2017 groups HERE!

ROM Reporters: The Buzz about the Bees

After being closed for almost a year, the ROM beehive in the Hands-on Biodiversity exhibit is soon to be reopened! The hive was closed due to accessibility issues. Now that the remodelling has been finished, the bees will be open to the public starting Friday, August 17th.

Renovations to the beehive Remodelling is no easy task. The opening to put the honeycombs into the frame had been installed in an inconvenient position. The opening had been installed on the top of the frame, so when the combs were in need of replacement, it was difficult to replace them. The workers reconstructed the frame so it was more accessible. They put the opening on the side so the bee specialists could easily slide the honeycombs out of the frame. The next step of installation was to add the new bees from Guelph into the hive.

So who lives here now? The western honey bee, or Apis mellifera, has a golden-brown body, with black stripes on the abdomen, and a fuzzy thorax and head. They are common in Toronto and are responsible for pollinating many of the city’s flowers. Once they have collected enough nectar, they return to their hive and place the nectar into the honeycombs which are made out of beeswax. Beeswax is a product they humans use as well. It is made of sugars extracted from the honey. Once the honey is in the comb, it’s sealed off with beeswax so that it will last through the winter. Bees work year round to aide their hive.

Honey for thought Due to pesticides and habitat loss, bees are a highly endangered species. Farmers put pesticides on their crops to kill the insects that try to eat it. In doing so, the bees are also killed. Bees are also losing their habitat due to humans disrupting it.

Honey bees are important for the ROM to have because bee specialists can easily examine them. The ROM also wants to teach people about bees, why they are important, and how hard they work.

Visit the ROM to see the reopening of the beehive!!!!:)

To learn more about our journey discovering the ROM, check out our posts from previous years using the links below:

You can catch all of our blogs right here on Tumblr! Check out stories from our 2015, 2016, and 2017 groups HERE!

ROM Reporters is an introductory journalism camp run at the Royal Ontario Museum for teens. ROM Reporters blogs, snaps, and tweets their way through their adventures in science and history!

ROM Reporters: Bull the White Rhino

If you’ve ever visited the Royal Ontario Museum, you’ve probably seen Bull. But what is his story?    

Bull, the southern white rhinoceros was born in South Africa in 1963. At the age of two, he moved to the San Diego Wild Animal Park where he lived for 11 years until he was relocated to the Toronto Zoo, where he lived until his death in 2008. Over his lifespan, he had three children named Shaboola, Abeeku, and Atu. After Bull’s death at the ripe old age of 45, he was given to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) where he was put through a year long taxidermist process by Len Murphy, a taxidermist at the ROM.

Bull now proudly stands in the Schad Gallery of Biodiversity. Next time when you go to the ROM, remember to go take a look at Bull the white rhino!  Bull is important to the ROM because he was a great conservationist success for his species. Southern white rhinos were thought to be extinct in the late 1800s until a small herd was discovered. Ever since then, rhinos like Bull have been part of lots of international breeding programs. Bull is a symbol of the good that can come out of the hard work of volunteers, scientists, and the public. But as of 2018, rhinos like Bull are still being poached for their ivory horns, which are thought to be magical at curing any ailment; even though there is no scientific evidence. 

We must continue to work together and protect animals like Bull from going extinct! 

To learn more about our journey discovering the ROM, check out our posts from previous years using the links below:

You can catch all of our blogs right here on Tumblr! Check out stories from our 2015, 2016, and 2017 groups HERE!

ROM Reporters is an introductory journalism camp run at the Royal Ontario Museum for teens. ROM Reporters blogs, snaps, and tweets their way through their adventures in science and history!

Toronto from the End of the World

Along the monotonous straight concrete road, past the sailboats and the smaller closed off coastal trails, three kilometres in I found myself on a floating bridge- and that’s when I was blessed with the first of several cinematic views of Toronto. Tommy Thomson Park rewards those willing to travel the old work roads deep into the sanctuary.

Tommy Thomson Park is accidental wilderness- human-made via land waste from the building of industry along the lakefront. Over time the area, cut off from the city due to its use, turned green, becoming the biodiversity preserve it is today. Running five kilometres out into Lake Ontario, the Park frames downtown Toronto to the north-west, with nature gorgeously engulfing the city.

I turned around to the south-east coast on my way home and ended up off the path- past a small purple and gold meadow, a cluster of tangled rusted cable and brick lay, jutting out into the water, that had caught my eye. The sky had grown dark, with the waves crashing against the shore- the mist of it dampening my hat. I turned around and saw the downtown core again, but this time it didn’t feel entirely as peaceful. This time it felt like I saw Toronto from the end of the world.

A ray of light peeked through the clouds, and a couple on bikes made their way through the meadow in front of me. The scene, so stark moments before, began to ease.

The accidental wilderness of Tommy Thompson Park is still at work, eating the leftover remains of the foundation of our city, but is building a sanctuary not just for wildlife but for us. The trek into the Park is dull, but it opens right up to an array of emotions the deeper you delve inside.

“Sun? I haven’t heard that name in years...”

“It’s tiny out there…it's inconsequential. It's ironic that we had come to study the Moon and it was really discovering the Earth.” - Bill Anders, Apollo 8 astronaut

This, as crazy as it sounds, was the feeling I got from holding a frog last spring. I felt like an astronaut seeing the Earth for the first time from space- under a grand realization of the need to protect our pale blue dot.

The weather’s nice, the sun is out, go outside, and hold a frog. It may change your life.

Happy 104th birthday, Museum.

Hello!

Historically Summer Club registration opens up in early February. Typically, Super Bowl Sunday is followed by Summer Club Monday. So in a few weeks!

This year the sessions run:

Session 1: July 3 to July 13 (Excludes July 2)Session 2: July 16 to July 27Session 3: July 30 to August 10 (Excludes August 6)Session 4: August 13 to August 24Session 5: August 27 to August 31

I can also be reached at kironm(@)rom.on.ca.

Thanks!