Royal Ontario Museum Blog
Monthly Archive: December
National Volunteer Week | Volunteers cataloguing backyard biodiversity
![A young participant holds up a spotted salamander in their hands for closer inspection. Photo by Tallie Garey. A young participant holds up a spotted salamander in their hands for closer inspection. Photo by Tallie Garey.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/tallie_garey_3_rom-ing.jpg?itok=7oi_3jen)
Volunteers at the Royal Ontario Museum are an integral element throughout our galleries and supporting a wide variety of our public programs throughout the year, including holiday programming, ROMKids camps, Sleepovers, and more!
But this National Volunteer Week, we also want to recognize, and sincerely thank, the host of volunteers who come from all across Ontario to support a major community program of which the ROM is an important partner: the Ontario Bioblitz.
National Volunteer Week: Thank You, ROM Volunteers!
This week marks National Volunteer Week, an annual event that recognizes and celebrates the important contributions that volunteers make each day in Canada and around the globe. Volunteer Canada says volunteer action is like a stone thrown in a lake: its effects have both a direct impact and far-reaching ripples that improve our communities. At the ROM, we are proud to celebrate the incredible volunteers who help the Museum build community, nurture discovery, and create a superb experience for our visitors.
When Friends come to visit...
Collections Matter
![Some of the ROM’s collection of Ivory Gulls (Pagophila eburnea), a species endangered in Canada A drawer filled with Ivory Gulls](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/collections_matter3.jpg?itok=qA6Ibonb)
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.
Museum Monday with Melissa - March 30, 2015
![Museum Monday with Melissa](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/musuem-monday-melissa11_0.jpg?itok=rBlodk4Q)
This coming week will be more focused on workshops and learning in creative ways.
My Favourite Object: A "Tell Minis" Style Lustre-Ware Bowl
![](/sites/default/files/imce/rom2006_8511_2.jpg)
Museum Monday with Melissa - March 23, 2015
![Museum Monday with Melissa](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/musuem-monday-melissa1.jpg?itok=IMp8KiVX)
Starting today is the international event well known as Museum Week. MUSEUM WEEK is a worldwide love of all things curatorial. Museums around the world celebrate this every year. From Egyptian mummies to Roman emperors, you can enjoy some of the best in conversations and curations.
A New Focus for Photography
I have had the pleasure this past week of working with a new camera. This is not just any new camera, but a tool which allows one to rethink how we go about photography. The number of times we have all heard "you should have focused on that thing" or "you forgot to focus!" is frustrating. "It’s a great shot....but it's out of focus".