Behind-the-scenes
Monthly Archive: December Behi
Not just for show: how and why museum specimens are collected
![ROM technician Brad Millen processes a bird specimen that will be added to the ROM's collections. Photo by Samantha Stephens ROM technician Brad Millen processes a bird specimen that will be added to the ROM's collections. Photo by Samantha Stephens](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/rom-bugroom_samantha_stephens-4.jpg?itok=lYnukphh)
Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication student Samantha Stephens
The sign on the door seemed quite appropriate. “Abandon all hope ye who enter here.” I imagine that, as this quote from Dante’s Inferno indicates, this might be what hell feels like. As this last barrier swings open and the dim room is revealed, the swarm of hundreds of tiny creatures moving across the concrete floor completes that vision. However, for some of the ROM’s tireless workers, this environment is heaven. Here resides the dermestid beetle colony. These ravenous beetles are eagerly seeking their next meal. Manoeuvring themselves into the crevices of skeletons, they strip the flesh from delicate specimens with more precision and speed than the nimblest of human fingers.
Sebastian Kvist: Leech Hunter
![Sebastian Kvist out in the field in Minnesota, U.S.A. Photo by Vincent Luk A portrait photo of Sebastian Kvist out in front of a swamp in the field in Minnesota, U.S.A. Photo by Vincent Luk](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/rom-seb_vincent-luk-4.jpg?itok=aRuR8BPr)
Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication student Sally McIntyre
When most people think about the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), they think of dinosaurs or mummies. However, it is the invertebrates that live on the ocean floor and crawl through the soil that make up the most diverse collection at the ROM. So who holds the daunting position of keeper of this vast museum collection? Meet Dr. Sebastian Kvist: Leech Hunter.
Clay sealings from Edfu, Egypt in the Greek & Roman collection
![Ptolemaic seal impressions in the Greek & Roman collection Ptolemaic seal impressions in collection storage drawers](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/edfu22045_0.jpg?itok=e_F6brTe)
Over a century after they were acquired Ptolemaic artifacts at the Royal Ontario Museum, Greek & Roman collection, get new homes
To X-Ray an Egg: Behind the Scenes of Empty Skies
![Photo by Justine DiCesare the flashing sign in the x-ray lab glows white with red text that reads "x-ray room in operation, do not enter"](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/dsc_0037.jpg?itok=9bUpUb2A)
“That egg is approximately one hundred and forty-four years old,” says Brad Millen, a technician who works in the ROM’s Natural History collections. Suddenly the large speckled shell that sits in the palm of my hand feels just a little bit heavier. I feel the weight of its place in the world - it is the egg of a passenger pigeon, and its species has been extinct for a hundred years.
Empty Skies: Behind-the-Scenes - Recreating Passenger Pigeon Habitat
![ROM Artist Georgia Guenther gives a passenger pigeon one last visual inspection in her workshop. Photo by Vincent Luk ROM Artist Georgia Guenther gives a passenger pigeon mount a final check before installing it into the exhibit](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/2014-08-11_passengerpigeon_16_blog-16x9.jpg?itok=0HoaOxAG)
Come behind-the-scenes with environmental visual communication students/guest bloggers Justine DiCesare and Vincent Luk to take a look using photos and video to see how the flowers and scenery were created for the new exhibit: Empty Skies: The Passenger Pigeon Legacy.
First Peek at Empty Skies: The Legacy of the Passenger Pigeon
![A pair of passenger pigeons sit ready to be added to the Empty Skies exhibit. Photo by Vincent Luk Stuffed passenger pigeons from the ROM collections sit on a table in the Gallery of Birds waiting to be installed in the new special exhibit](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/2014-08-19_passengerpigeon_01-2.jpg?itok=RDnB94WF)
The ROM's latest special exhibit, Empty Skies: The Legacy of the Passenger Pigeon swoops in this Saturday, August 23. Get an exclusive first glimpse at the behind-the-scenes of the exhibit being installed!
Up on the Rooftop - The ROM's Green Roof
![The ROM’S Green Roof, Liza’s Garden. Photo by Vincent Luk A wide view of the ROM Green Roof, facing North to the structure of the Crystal](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/2014-06-26_rom_lizasgarden01_web-2.jpg?itok=aH8ZZ3z5)
Earlier this summer, a group of Torontonian researchers and PhD students were granted rare access to the ROM’s green roof, “Liza’s Garden” to survey the biodiversity, take soil samples, and to look for changes in the vegetation profile.
My Experience as a Web Intern at the ROM
![Behind the entrance to the Bat Cave, is this delightful diorama of deer in the forest. This reminded me so much of the forest diorama at The Royal British Columbia Museum. Photos by Jaime Clifton-Ross (left) and Royal British Columbia Museum (right). Behind the entrance to the Bat Cave, is this delightful diorama of deer in the forest. This reminded me so much of the forest diorama at The Royal British Columbia Museum. Photos by Jaime Clifton-Ross (left) and Royal British Columbia Museum (right).](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/museum_deer_dioramas.jpg?itok=svYtDZEx)
Jaime Clifton-Ross reflects on her Summer 2014 internship at the ROM.
Conservation Intern Spotlight: Natasa Krsmanovic
![Natasa performing backing removal on an albumen photograph at her bench in the Queen’s conservation lab. Photo courtesy of Natasa Krsmanovic. Natasa performing backing removal on an albumen photograph at her bench in the Queen’s conservation lab. Photo courtesy of Natasa Krsmanovic.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/natasa_at_school.jpg?itok=mpdBYLVh)
This spotlight post--featuring ROM paper conservation intern Natasa Krsmanovic--highlights her background, shares her perspective on current paper conservation practices, and discusses her treatment projects at the museum.
Conservation Intern Spotlight: Emily Ricketts
![Emily cleaning Neoclassical Chandelier with tools and supplies. Photos by Jaime Clifton-Ross Emily cleaning Neoclassical Chandelier with tools and supplies. Photos by Jaime Clifton-Ross](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/emily-conserving-chandelier.jpg?itok=URa8NPXL)
This spotlight post--featuring ROM conservation intern Emily Ricketts--highlights her background, shares her perspective on current artefact conservation practices, and discusses her treatment projects at the museum.