Royal Ontario Museum Blog
Monthly Archive: December
#ThrowbackThursday: Getting Creative
In September, 1971, the ROM opened the landmark exhibition Keep Me Warm One Night, a kaleidoscopic display of over 500 pieces of Canadian handweaving. It was the culmination of decades of pioneering research and collecting by the ROM curatorial powerhouse duo 'Burnham and Burnham’, aka Dorothy K. Burnham and Harold B. Burnham.
The Natural World in South Asian Painting
![Emperor Aurangzeb Observing Nilgaï; unknown artist; borders attr. to master decorator Muhammad Baqir; watercolour and gold on paper; Delhi, India c. 1680; combined into album c. 1750 A grassy landscape with grazing animals and a group of men carrying a man in a palaquin.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/924.12.146_rom2009_10749_2.jpg?itok=T9egdIk4)
In Indian painting, nature is a space of possibilities—where spiritual retreats, leisure activities, romantic encounters, and tests of skill take place. Written by Deepali Dewan.
True Blue Detectives
![ROM technician Oliver Haddrath extracting a DNA sample from blue whale tissue. Photo by Connor McDowell ROM technician Oliver Haddrath extracting a DNA sample from blue whale tissue. Photo by Connor McDowell](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/20170619-0015.jpg?itok=XCePYOTi)
Guest blog written by 2017 Environmental Visual Communication student Connor McDowell
The Royal Ontario Museum has marked yet another first for science with the Blue Whale Project. This achievement could hold keys to the conservation of this majestic, endangered mammal – not to mention a deeper understanding of the unique evolutionary history of the largest living animal on Earth. The beginning of this story starts two thousand kilometers away, on the shores of Newfoundland, Canada with something so small that you can't see it with the naked eye.
#ThrowbackThursday: Cotton Ceiling
In September, 1971, the ROM opened the landmark exhibition Keep Me Warm One Night, a kaleidoscopic display of over 500 pieces of Canadian handweaving. It was the culmination of decades of pioneering research and collecting by the ROM curatorial powerhouse duo 'Burnham and Burnham’, aka Dorothy K. Burnham and Harold B. Burnham.
Hippos and Whales: Unlikely Cousins
![Photo by: http://www.statedclearly.com/ Whales and hippos share a common ancestor. Photo by: http://www.statedclearly.com/](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/whale_hippo.jpg?itok=bsiSpDVD)
Guest blog written by Environmental Visual Communication student Natasha Hirt
What do hippos and whales have in common? A tonne. It may seem surprising that hippos are the closest living relative to whales. At the ROM's Blue Whale Exhibition, visitors can explore what whales and other marine mammals looked like over 50 million years ago.
#ThrowbackThursday: More Padding in Front
In September, 1971, the ROM opened the landmark exhibition Keep Me Warm One Night, a kaleidoscopic display of over 500 pieces of Canadian handweaving. It was the culmination of decades of pioneering research and collecting by the ROM curatorial powerhouse duo 'Burnham and Burnham’, aka Dorothy K. Burnham and Harold B. Burnham.
Smudging Blue: Honouring the Spirit of Our Whale
![Kim Wheatley drums and sings an Anishnaabe blessing to the skeleton of the blue whale. Photo by Rachel Brown Kim Wheatley drums and sings an Anishnaabe blessing to the skeleton of the blue whale. Photo by Rachel Brown](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/thumbnail_1.jpg?itok=Tu0i_ysX)
Guest blog written by 2017 Environmental Visual Communication student Rachel Brown
Kim Wheatley is an Anishinaabe mother and grandmother of the Shawanaga First Nation. Read this blog to hear the story of how EVC student Rachel Brown met Kim at the ROM, where she offered a traditional prayer and blessing for the bones and heart of ‘Blue,’ the whale - the star of Out of the Depths: The Blue Whale Story.
#ThrowbackThursday: Still More Labels
In September, 1971, the ROM opened the landmark exhibition Keep Me Warm One Night, a kaleidoscopic display of over 500 pieces of Canadian handweaving. It was the culmination of decades of pioneering research and collecting by the ROM curatorial powerhouse duo 'Burnham and Burnham’, aka Dorothy K. Burnham and Harold B. Burnham.