CuratorialTanenbaum Gallery of Byzantium at the ROMInitiatives

Programs

bird in a tree
Program

Climate Change

An Active Voice for Climate Hope At ROM, we know that climate change is happening. We’ve seen the effects of it revealed in field and lab research, scientific study data, changing field expedition parameters, and much more. In a bold move, the Museum committed to share knowledge and insights from research, studies, data, and other fact-based evidence to help raise awareness of the effects of climate change, and in 2021, welcomed Dr. Soren Brothers, the first Allan and Helaine Shiff Curator of Climate Change. Through programming, exhibitions, gallery updates, education and kids programming, and
Jean-Bernard Caron standing on a hill with mountains in the background
Project

Burgess Shale Projects

The Cambrian radiation represents the sudden worldwide appearance and rapid diversification of animals. The record of this critical event is documented in a series of exceptional fossil deposits with preservation of soft-bodied animals, especially in China and Canada. The Burgess Shale, located in the UNESCO World Heritage Canadian Rocky Mountain Park in British Columbia represents one of the most famous palaeontological localities anywhere. This site is famous for its exquisite preservation of soft-bodied animals dating from the Middle Cambrian (505 million-year-old) period. Preserved with stunning clarity, Burgess Shale fossils provide an unprecedented source of ecological and biological information not available in most fossil deposits.
Royal Ontario Museum Michael Lee-Chin Crystal. Bloor Street Entrance.
Article

Canada’s Crawford Lake Selected as Top World Site to Define Start of Proposed Anthropocene Epoch

An international group of researchers has selected Crawford Lake in Milton, Ont., as the site that could formally define the start of the Anthropocene, a proposed new epoch shaped by the significant global impacts of recent human activity. On July 11...

E. J. Crossman Endowment Fund

The E. J. Crossman Endowment Fund honours the memory of Dr. Edwin J. Crossman who was Curator of Ichthyology at the Royal Ontario Museum between 1957 and 1995. Fondly known as E.J., he conducted research on the freshwater fishes of Canada with emphasis on Ontario fishes and the pike family in particular. He published more than 200 articles and books, with his preeminent work being the seminal Freshwater Fishes of Canada, which he co-authored with Dr. W.B. Scott. E.J. had a contagious enthusiasm for all fishes, and was dedicated to the growth of the ROM’s fish collection. He was greatly respected by anglers and fellow colleagues alike, and he never missed an opportunity to converse with anyone about fishes.

The fund provides support for university faculty, museum curators, collection managers, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers to study tropical or temperate freshwater fishes at the ROM’s fish collection. The funds could cover the cost of travel, food and accommodation while working at the museum.

Applications of about one page in length must include:

  • a description of the project;
  • an explanation of how the visit will benefit the ROM fish collection;
  • beginning and end dates of the visit;
  • a budget, including travel, accommodation, food, additional funding received;
  • a letter of recommendation from the applicant's academic supervisor, if applicable.

Preference will be given to researchers that have funding from other institutions (e.g., the Smithsonian Institute or Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia).

Amounts of individual grants will vary. Maximum amount available in a given year will be limited to $3,500.

A report summarizing results of the research to be submitted three months after the visit.

Please send any queries or applications to Mary Burridge maryb@rom.on.ca or Erling Holm erlingh@rom.on.ca. Applications are accepted at anytime.