Royal Ontario Museum Blog
Monthly Archive: December
Modern Mexico: Fusions, Fashion and Folk Art
![Edit Blog Post Modern Mexico_ Fusions, Fashion and Folk Art _ Royal Ontario Museum.html Photo of a ceramic sculpture](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/tree_of_life_soteno_0.jpg?itok=1hS28l2T)
By Ana Galindo
Since the opening of the ¡Viva México! exhibition at the ROM in May 2015, we have been generously treated to a myriad of events related to the show—visiting artists, talks and Friday Night Live events. Most recently, the museum hosted a magnificent symposium introducing attendees to the ideas and work of various academics and experts on the visual culture of Mexico.
Behind the Blitz: Three Young Scientists
![The species depot morphs into a bustling hub of scientific energy late in the first 12 hours of the Ontario BioBlitz. Photo by Krystal Seedial Wide view of the species depot at the 2015 Ontario BioBlitz, where scientists bring back specimens to examine and identify along tables with microscopes and field guides. Photo by Krystal Seedial](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/2015-06-13-bioblitz_krystal_seedial-17_1_of_1.jpg?itok=UB4HWRG4)
Blog by Nadine Leone, ROM Hands-on Biodiversity Gallery Assistant Coordinator
The first of four blogs in our Ontario BioBlitz: Behind the Blitz series is an interview with three young ROM scientists, who share their favourite highlights from last year's event in the Don Watershed.
Tattoos: Borneo
![An Iban elder at Nanga Beretik longhouse. Black and white photograph of an older man with tattoos on his neck and shoulders](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/borneoimage.jpg?itok=5GCY5PfQ)
Guest blog by Chris Darling, Senior Curator of Entomology.
Tattooed Heroes of Edo Period Japan
Tattoos: Ritual. Identity. Obsession. Art is an exhibition in the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) coming from Museé du quai Branly, Paris. It explores 5000 years of tattoo tradition around the world. The traditional and contemporary tattoos of Japan are featured prominently in their own section of the exhibition. This article introduces several tattoo images, some of which are not covered in the exhibition.
New to ROM: Frances Ferdinands
![Cinnamon Spice Frances Ferdinands Ontario, Canada 2015 38 x 29 cm ROM2015.67.2 Illustration of a jug container with a red floral pattern.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/2_1_2015articsokgallery-det.jpg?itok=BPbW4kXQ)
Combining aesthetic beauty and history, this work cleverly and poetically combine references from historical Sri Lankan decorative art alongside meanings that resonate with issues of inequality, injustice, and the exploitation of natural resources during Sri Lanka’s colonial past. Written by Deepali Dewan.
Winners of the Henry's Capture the Wilderness Contest
![Photo of a dinosaur fossil in the museum](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/toruntojrmars_contestimage.jpg?itok=X2zdQmar)
In conjunction with the ROM's Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, Henry's exclusively invited ROM members to enter the Capture the Wilderness Contest which ran from February 1 - March 20, 2016. ROM Members were asked to tweet their latest and greatest tips for capturing the wilderness for a chance to win one of five SONY ALPHA A6000 Cameras equipped with a 16-50mm lens! We are excited to announce the final 5 Contest Winners.
NEW RESEARCH: Seed Eating May Have Helped Beaked Birds Survive
![A number of bird-like dinosaurs reconstructed in their environment in the Hell Creek Formation at the end of the Cretaceous. Middle ground and background: two different dromaeosaurid species hunting vertebrate prey (a lizard and a toothed bird). Foreground: hypothetical toothless bird closely related to the earliest modern birds. Image credit: Danielle Dufault. Cretaceous Bird-Like Dinosaurs](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/larson_2016_image_1.jpg?itok=wQAWYwKK)
Living birds may have their ancestors' beaks to thank for surviving the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs. New research indicates the closest relatives of modern birds, the small feathered raptor dinosaurs and primitive toothed birds, went extinct abruptly at the end of the Cretaceous Period, and that beaked birds may have benefitted because of their ability to eat seeds. This study is the newest to shed light on how some animals may have survived the massive meteor impact and subsequent ecological turmoil that ended the reign of the dinosaurs.
A little piece of the puzzle – Citizen Science works!
ROM Ornithologist, Mark Peck describes one of the ways he contributes to Citizen Science
Family Camera: Mystery Missionary
If family albums are understood as social artifacts, rather than simply images, perhaps their vulnerability towards dehistoricization and aestheticization can be overcome. Written by Aliya Mazari.