Royal Ontario Museum Blog
Monthly Archive: December cont
A Different Kind of Mezcal Worm: The Story of a Leech, a Manatee and Biodiversity Conservation
![A closely related leech, <em>Haementeria depressa</em>, from the Royal Ontario Museum’s Invertebrate Zoology collection (Photo: Sally McIntyre) Photo of a leech against a white background](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/haementeria-depressa.jpg?itok=2lOcIiZT)
Blog by Roegan Vetro, ROM Biodiversity Gallery Facilitator
Profile: Canada's Astronaut
![Chris Hadfield in his astronaut suit A photograph of a man in an astronaut suit without a helmet](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/cah_-_nasa.jpg?itok=Zbp62Dn5)
Chris Hadfield sits down with ROM Magazine and talks space, dinos, and risk.
ROM Collections Contribute to Checklist of Indian Birds
![Brad Millen examines one of countless drawers full of bird specimens from across the world. Photo by Filip Szafirowski Brad Millen examines one of countless drawers full of bird specimens from across the world. Photo by Filip Szafirowski](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/20160721-bradsbirds049-2.jpg?itok=FXN20n1o)
Museum collections are often undervalued and misunderstood. Regular visitors to the ROM don’t get to see what lies behind the public galleries, and yet less than 1% of the ROM’s collections are on display. These collections do far more than gather dust: they are a reference point in time, and, from a natural history perspective, provide a baseline for our understanding of life. I have received a lot of data requests from inside and outside the ROM. Some I can answer, and some I automatically forward along to collections. A group of recent emails stood out in particular...
Tattoos: Today
![The tattoos of actor Angelina Jolie. Picture of actor Angelina Jolie in a blue dress showing her tattoos on her neck and shoulder](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/todayimage.jpg?itok=xpPmDbuP)
Although tattooing has deep roots across cultures and has spread globally, across several millennia, the Western perception of tattoos, the tattooist, and the tattooed has had connotations of deviance.
Were These Peruvian Mummies Climate Change Nomads?
Join the ROM team in the field in Peru
Tattoos: Arctic
![drawn picture of a woman dressed in fur in a snow hut surrounded by shelves of pots and antlers](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/interior_of_an_eskimaux_snow-hut2.jpg?itok=xNLzUHQj)
How tattoos are viewed in the Arctic communities.
Profile: Marianne Mader
![Marianne Mader Woman in a black dress and glasses standing in front of purple crystals incased in a rock](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/rom2015_14799_3.jpg?itok=KdSUHzD_)
New on the Ground (and in Space)
The ROM’s Marianne Mader discusses her inspirations and what’s next for her.
What made you pursue planetary science as a study?
The TRCA Calls Upon Batman for Help
![Dr. Burton Lim (left) and ROM Biodiversity's Nicole Richards (right) walk along the Scarborough Bluffs waterfront en route to one of the three bat detectors. Photo by Filip Szafirowski Dr. Burton Lim (left) and ROM Biodiversity's Nicole Richards (right) walk along the Scarborough Bluffs waterfront en route to one of the three bat detectors. Photo by Filip Szafirowski](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/filip_szafirowski_bats_burton_bluffs-2016_3.jpg?itok=UGHsclgN)
It’s been a hot summer, the sun is shining and the Scarborough Bluffs are standing tall above the Lake Ontario shoreline. But they might not be for long. The Scarborough Bluffs in Toronto’s east end are eroding at a rapid rate, increasing the likelihood of slope failure and damage to local species’ habitats. Although the cliffs have been eroding since the 1940s, the view from atop the Bluffs was too enticing to prevent people from further settling there. As houses were feverishly built along the Bluffs, the rate of erosion further accelerated.
Tattoos: Exploring Tattoo Culture Around the World
![Back of man, covered with Tattoos.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/tattoo1.jpg?itok=6hksnym2)
Tattoos: Ritual, Identity, Obsession and Art.
The ROM's Remarkable Bees
![European Honey Bees Honey Bees clustered in a hive](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/europeanhoneybees.jpg?itok=JYGfp5Zr)
Guest blog by Antonia Guidotti, Entomology Technician
ROM visitors love the live hive of European Honey Bees in the Hands-on Biodiversity Gallery. The queen bee is currently “spotted” with a bright green dot. As long as she is near the front of the display, visitors can find her, and receive an “I found the Queen Bee” sticker.
Most Common Questions
Are they alive?