WRITTEN BY
Nathalie Prezeau, author of Toronto Fun Places

When Nature turns all grey, cold and wet on us, the weather calls for indoor activities. And there’s no better time to explore the gleaming Minerals gallery (less than a year old) and the superb Biodiversity gallery (which opened last May) on the Level 2 at the Royal Ontario Museum.

It had been over a year since my last visit at the ROM and, boy, was I in for a treat! As I climbed the majestic stairs by the large totem, I was greeted by a huge stone rhino at the entrance of the new Biodiversity gallery which has changed the whole look of Level 2. Gone were the sinuous dark corridors. Now, the open space is filled with glassed showcases featuring all kinds of animals, and big fish bathed in the light and floating from the ceiling, adding to the airy feeling of the place. Here and there, touch screens allow kids to choose from a selection of 30-second clips.

The Earth Rangers Studio set in the middle of this gallery is a wonderful multi-media room where we watched the short film Power of One with live commentary from a ranger, and the fun surprise of a real kestrel, a small bird of prey, flying over our head from a trap in the back of the room! (The 10-minute long activity is offered several time on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.) More free activities are offered in that room, with an insect theme on Sundays,  a coral reef theme on Mondays and short projections on Friday nights.

The nearby Minerals gallery, by the gorgeous mosaic ceiling, is even more breathtaking. Hundreds of artifacts in glittering glassed windows are regrouped under compelling themes such as “Minerals from ancient lavas flow�, “The stories minerals tell�, “Exceptional crystals from special environments� and “Colour in mineral and gems�. There’s a whole section filled with meteorites, others on diamonds, fluorescent rocks, rock molecular structures and more. Two large screens feature great visuals on a loop and you can play I-Spy games with your kids, thanks to touch screens presenting the full display of each showcase, from which they can select the rock they want to know more about.

When visiting Level 2 with kids, I recommend starting your tour with the Dinosaurs galleries followed by the section with the mammoth skeleton in the Mammals gallery. From there, you can now access the Birds gallery (don’t forget to check what’s inside the drawers!) and the Discovery Gallery (with its big teepee, costume section, digging sandpit and more). This will lead you to a kids’ favourite at the ROM: the Bat Cave, and the Hands-On Biodiversity section (still featuring a live bee colony). You can then walk through the new Biodiversity gallery and finish with the Minerals gallery.

Last weekend when I visited the ROM, I was with a girlfriend, a mother of four (without her kids) who hadn’t been to the ROM for ages. I couldn’t wait for her to see the new architecture so I took her directly to the staircase in the Crystal section, aptly called Stair of Wonders (my favourite way to start the visit).

We climbed up to Level 4 to admire the staircase from every angle and to get to the Vanity Fair Portraits (a photograph exhibition presented until January 3rd featuring, among other artworks published in the magazine, many famous pictures from financially-challenged photographer Annie Leibovitz, complete with flat-screen projections of the making of these photographs).
 
We then went down to Lebel B2 to check the visiting exhibition Dead Sea Scrolls running until January 3rd (a very intesting collection involving lots of reading, that we would not have appreciated as much, had we been with our kids).

TIPS
• For more information, check their website at www.rom.on.ca.
• The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily (it closes at 9:30 p.m. on Fridays). They offer Half-Price Friday Nights from 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. every Friday, which means the admission (not including the Dead Sea Scrolls) is then $11/adults, $9.50/seniors or students, and $7.50/4-14 years old instead of $22/adults, $19/seniors or students and $15/4-14 years old. It is free for kids 3 yars and under.
• They offer additional free family activities on the weekends.

In her personal yet practical 480-page guidebook, author Nathalie Prezeau describes hundreds of outings in and around the GTA she tested with her family and friends over the past twelve years. The 4th edition is out! It includes a new chapter on things to do with the kids around the 69 subway stations in Toronto, as well as exciting city walks to play the tourist in Toronto. Available in the Travel Section of GTA bookstores as well as Mastermind Educational Toys stores and currently at Costco. Visit www.torontofunplaces.com to learn more. 

©Nathalie Prezeau 2009

Tags: Annie Leibovitz, Bat Cave, biodiversity, Dead Sea Scrolls, Dinosaurs, Discovery Gallery, Earth Rangers Studio, kids, minerals, Nathalie Prezeau, review, ROM, Royal Ontario Museum, specials, tips, Torontno Museum, Vanity Fair portraits