One of my favourite outings during March Break was our visit to the Royal Ontario Museum. We made our way down from Markham, me and my two boys 8 and 11 years old. We rode down on the subway from Finch station which was an adventure in itself. Guess it had been awhile since we headed into the city without our usual four wheels, the subway provided plenty of hustle and bustle to keep the boys from getting bored!
March Break was a very busy time at the museum, it was great to see so many enthusiastic kids bouncing around the special activities and events on the main floor. There was a buzz of excitement all around, entertainers, crafts, puzzles and loads more to keep younger minds engaged and busy.
The boys had a pretty long list of ‘must sees’. First on the list was the special MAYA: Secrets of their Ancient World exhibit*. The MAYA exhibit has been receiving alot of publicity so naturally I was interested in seeing what it was all about. The exhibit is actually quite large, it features many artifacts – carvings, pottery, jewellery, masks and incredible ceremonial pieces as well as explanatory videos throughout. My 11 year old was captivated by the carvings on the items, the ancient Mayan designs have an almost modern styling that are really beautiful, or in other words ‘cool’. My eight year old was interested in knowing all about the tablets and symbols they used. My personal favourite was the mask of the Red Queen, made from over 1100 pieces of malachite, bone and shells entirely reconstructed by some very patient archaeologists. Simply amazing!
The items in this exhibit are really old – some of the pieces are dated to 250 CE, being so close to this kind of history seemed almost mind boggling for the boys. It really is difficult for us to visualize this kind of time span, and the condition of the items in MAYA are truly amazing. It’s such an interesting culture that we hear so little about, I think we all took away from it a certain sense of ‘awe’.
Talking about hard to visualize time spans, my 8 year old was itching to see the dinosaurs in the Micheal-Lee Chin Crystal. We visited this exhibit when it first opened in 2008, and it’s still an incredible sight – for those of you who have not yet been you owe yourself a trip. We all love the Prehistoric Sea Turtle that hangs from the ceiling, also the Barosaurus at 90 feet long, is spectacular – standing beside this giant really gives one a perspective of what the massive proportions of this prehistoric world must have been like. So many creatures are included from the smallest (or giant!) insect up to the the woolly mammoth and other massive dinosaurs including the monstrous Tyranosaurus rex that tower over you as you walk through, always a hit with the kids!
We also made visits to the Mammal Gallery, Bat Cave, Bird Gallery, studied Butterflies and learned loads about the ROMs resident bees from an enthusiastic volunteer. By request we made time to visit Greece, Rome and Japan. Not too much looking at the statues and pottery here though, the boys had a main objective – armour and weaponry. I actually learned loads, as my 11 year old explained the history and evolution of Roman Armour to me along the way. The Samurai costumes and weapons were especially popular with them as well.
Visit the Royal Ontario Museum website for more info and family friendly events.
*Editors note: this exhibit was a temporary exhibit, visit our event guides to find current exhibits and events at the ROM
