Royal Ontario Museum Blog
Monthly Archive: December
Goddess Exposed: the ROM’s ‘Minoan’ Goddess is on display!
![ROM 'Minoan' Goddess now on display ROM 'Minoan' Goddess now on display](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/katec_minoan_goddess_display_thumbnail.jpg?itok=t9IJSS65)
She’s been languishing in the Greek & Roman storerooms for years, but finally the ROM Minoan Goddess is back on display.
Empty Skies: Resurrecting the Passenger Pigeon Backdrop
![A passenger pigeon in front of the digitally-restored backdrop in the Empty Skies exhibit. Photo by Vincent Luk a passenger pigeon mounted specimen sits in the Empty skies exhibit in front of the digitally restored backdrop](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/2014-08-20_passengerpigeon_11-2.jpg?itok=mCFYzMQu)
A long time ago, in a ROM gallery quite different from today’s, there was a diorama that showcased a migrating flock of passenger pigeons....
The Monastery of St Moses, Syria: The Buildings
![The main monastery buildings at Deir Mar Musa, Syria, from the South., the same view as the reconstructions in the blog. The main monastery buildings at Deir Mar Musa, Syria, from the South., the same view as the reconstructions in the blog.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/dscn0493.jpg?itok=usC9uI1z)
The monastery of Deir Mar Musa in its heyday included hermitages spread around the landscape, but as today, the focus of the complex would have been the buildings, especially the chapel, home to the important frescos. The archaeology of standing buildings requires looking at walls to see how they are made, and how they relate to each other. One structure may clearly be seen as one that came first, with later structures abutting on to it. Different phases may be made of different materials, or the same material worked in a different way.
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.
At the Heart of the Museum: Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery Floor Restoration
![Armour Court, 1931 Original Floors, Armour Court 1931](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/ag.jpg?itok=bGta5VM7)
If floors could talk – from the thousands of visitors who walk through Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery each day, to the long list of programs, installations and events that have taken place in this space, it is truly one of the city’s greatest rooms and the heart of the Royal Ontario Museum.
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.
Empty Skies: Who Are the Species At Risk?
![ROM Exhibit Preparator Bernard collects the Species At Risk that will be added to the Empty Skies exhibit. Photo by Vincent Luk A museum preparator collects the Species At Risk that will be added to the Empty Skies Passenger Pigeon exhibit](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/2014-07-31_passengerpigeon_01-2.jpg?itok=sWSPWDnY)
In the case across from the Passenger Pigeons in the new Empty Skies exhibit, eleven different Species At Risk birds are on display. But who are these species? What are their stories?
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!
Game Jam 2014 - A Revolutionary Success
![The 2014 ROM Game Jam participants. Photo by Justine DiCesare A group photo of all 2014 ROM Game Jam participants in front of a dinosaur skeleton](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/game_jam_group_2014.jpg?itok=Cwlfu21l)
The 2014 ROM Game Jam, "The Evolution Revolution" took place over the weekend of August 8-10 and was a huge success! Check out some photos and a featured video about the event and some of the awesome game concepts that came out of this convergence of creative energy.
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.