Royal Ontario Museum Blog
Monthly Archive: December
National Volunteer Week | Volunteer Spotlight: Rebecca Beayni
![Rebecca at the Hands-on Biodiversity & Discovery Galleries Rebecca at the Hands-on Biodiversity & Discovery Galleries](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/img_0042web.jpg?itok=DsG3DAo6)
How can a museum volunteer change the way we view the world? This National Volunteer Week, we invite you to meet Rebecca Beayni, a volunteer in the Hands-on Biodiversity & Discovery Galleries, who was recognized for her contribution to the museum at the 2014 Ontario Volunteer Service Awards.
"Of Angling, and the Art thereof": Fish Tails and Fish Tales
!['Angler's Pride' in R. G. Allerton, Brook Trout Fishing, An Account of a Trip of the Oquossoc Angling Association to Northern Maine in June 1869. New York:: 1869.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/anglers_pride_brook_trout_fishing_1869_small_copy.jpg?itok=7Fhu0uEc)
“Of Angling, and the Art thereof I sing,
What kinde of Tooles it doth behoue to haue;
National Volunteer Week | Volunteer Spotlight: Helen Hatton
![Helen with artist Arturo Buenrostro and his dinosaurs, in his shop Imagine at the Artisan’s Market in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Helen Hatton with wooden dinosaurs in Mexico](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/helen_dinoweb.jpg?itok=i6fbUq_B)
After one of her shifts at the Hands-on Biodiversity Gallery, ROM volunteer Helen Hatton said to her husband, “Honey, do you want to hear about the sex life of hissing cockroaches?” Her husband, whom Helen describes as “a delightful retired geek,” calmly replied, “Let’s have a drink first.”
He later observed that Helen and her colleagues at the ROM were all “a bit around the bend.” “He’s right,” Helen admits. “And that’s what I love!”
Pompeii Saga: Last Day
![Antique colour illustration (c. 1866) of Mount Vesuvious erupting Antique colour illustration (c. 1866) of Mount Vesuvious erupting](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/pompeii.jpg?itok=T4OfiiGY)
The horrors of the Mount Vesuvius eruption were buried under volcanic ash. Thankfully one scholarly young man wrote the story of his own survival.
By: Douglas Thomson
Earth's Archives: Every Rock Tells a Story Part 1
![Hematite Hematite](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/hermatite.jpg?itok=YxGE89YV)
Hermatite
By: Ian Nicklin
Hematite is a common ore of iron that was extensively mined in northern England in the 19th century. The miners referrred to globular aggregates of hematite, such as this, as "kidney-ore" since it reminded them of the organ. We call this shape "reniform," which means the same thing: kidney-shaped.
Getting Lost with Galloway
![Matt Galloway, the host of Metro Morning on CBC Radio.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/matt_thumbnail.jpg?itok=0lROlmI3)
We sat down with CBC's Matt Galloway to find out exactly what keeps bringing him back to the ROM
By: Douglas Thomson
Q: Do you visit the museum often?
A: Yes, I have a couple of young kids. We come on a fairly regular basis. Sometimes if there’s a special event, but also sometimes we come just to wander around. It’s a great place to explore—one of the places we go to just spend time in the city. That’s a
big thing for our family, to be out and about in Toronto as much as we can.
Cooking up History: Historical Recipe Books
![](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/cover_the_ladys_assistant_1801.jpg?itok=HFLXON7s)
The cookbooks of the past provide information about diet and habits, as well as telling us which foods were expensive treats, and which were commonly available. Many of the foods that appear regularly through the centuries are not often eaten today, like pickled eel, fried lamprey, and cow-heel soup. Others are familiar, such as macaroni soup or an 1877 recipe for ‘Indian dal’.
Meet Miss Martin: Behind the Scenes at the ROM Library & Archives
![Ella N. Martin, ROM Library & Archives SC82 Ella Martin displays an artifact. ROM Archives SC82](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/ella1.jpg?itok=jqQtPbXY)
University of Toronto iSchool Masters candidate Nicole Marcogliese describes her experience in the ROM's Library & Archives working with the Ella N. Martin collection.
My Favourite Object: A "Tell Minis" Style Lustre-Ware Bowl
![](/sites/default/files/imce/rom2006_8511_2.jpg)