Enjoy the Colours of the Season with ROM for the Holidays

At ROM a vibrant world awaits visitors this holiday season from December 26 to January 5.

TORONTO, December 4, 2024 – Experience the best of the season with friends and family during ROM for the Holidays, presented by BASF Canada. Guests will enjoy plenty of hands-on activities throughout the Museum, hair-raising demonstrations with Ontario Science Centre’s Van de Graaff Generator and a variety of daily crowd-pleasing festive performances, including everything from spellbinding magic shows to children’s musical entertainers and whimsical puppetry. 

“ROM is meant to bring people together – and that’s especially true over the holidays,” says Josh Basseches, ROM Director & CEO. “Through programs, performances, and exhibitions for visitors of all ages, we are proud to provide a space where everyone can connect and create lasting memories.”

ROM has something for everyone this holiday season. Visitors can enjoy the newly opened family-friendly exhibitions Nature in Brilliant Colour and Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

“With ROM for the Holidays, the Royal Ontario Museum is embracing the joy of the festive season by connecting family and friends through captivating exhibits and stellar seasonal programming,” says Stan Cho, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming. “Whether you’re a history buff, science lover, or art connoisseur, visiting from near or far, come to the ROM to make your holiday season one to remember.”

This holiday season, visitors can share and enjoy the most precious gift of all – of being together, while enjoying all that the Museum has to offer.

“We're proud that, through our partnership with ROM, we can inspire curiosity and STEM learning to all youth visitors, helping bring even more fun this holiday season,” says Marlena Mista, BASF Canada Communication and Social Engagement Manager.

Highlight Activities
Daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. All activities are included with General Admission.

• Level 1: Get charged up and learn about static electricity with Ontario Science Centre Hosts and the Van de Graaff Generator. Visitors will be able to participate in daily demonstrations between 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Live entertainment daily on Level 1: Catch live performances during the holidays, featuring:
  • Njacko Backo, a Juno-nominated musician and storyteller who has been performing for children and adults since his childhood in Cameroon.
  • Little Chaos Shadow Puppets presents whimsy, wonder and cacophonous joy through the power of the extraordinary.
  • Fay and Fluffy, presenting stories and songs that are LGBTQ2S inclusive, showing that reading is FUN-damental!
• Level 1: Featuring Colour Your Feelings craft activities.
• Level 2: WonderWorks, ROM’s play-based space, will have extra-colourful activities for children. The Earth Rangers Studio will present Decoding Colour, challenging visitors to crack nature’s colour codes concealed in natural history specimens.
• Level 3: Features the relaxing colouring computer game Été – set in Montréal, the game lets users become digital artists as they paint a nostalgic version of the city in summertime. Colour Scavenger Hunt takes families throughout the Museum in search of trivia questions highlighting brilliant colours found in art, culture, and nature.

Give the gift of ROM to family and friends with a ROM Membership
This holiday season, give a gift they’ll love: ROM Membership. A ROM Membership provides year-long, free and unlimited access to four billion years of beauty and wonder. Members enjoy exclusive events, discounts, and advanced access to exhibitions.

Holiday Shopping
With the holiday season here, ROM Boutique is a natural destination for experiential, memorable, and timeless gifts, including ROM-authored books that are a treasure to own:

• Canadian Watercolours & Drawings Volume 3, recently published, beautifully presents historical Canadian watercolours collected by ROM since 1972.
• A Field Guide to Trees of Ontario, published in 2023, contains more than 1,400 vibrant photographs and illustrations that describe the trees encountered on city streets and forest hikes.
• A Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of Ontario is a beautiful and accessible full-colour handbook is the definitive guide to Ontario freshwater fish.
• ROM Field Guide to Butterflies of Ontario covers 167 species of butterflies known in Ontario and includes information on seasonal flight patterns and dramatic photos showing various life stages.
• Bird Eggs: A Young Naturalist's Guide takes readers on an exploration of bird eggs in all their variety, from clifftops to ground nests and everywhere in between.
• Minerals and Rocks: A Beginner's Guide is ideal for young readers, introducing key geological and scientific concepts along with a chapter on finding, studying and collecting rocks in your own backyard.

Exhibitions on during ROM for the Holidays
Please note, feature exhibitions are specially ticketed.

• Nature in Brilliant Colour takes visitors on a kaleidoscopic journey through multiple spaces to discover the brilliant ways nature uses colour.
• Wildlife Photographer of the Year is the world-renowned annual nature photography competition and exhibition, presenting a new set of 100 breathtaking views of the natural world.
• Earth: An Immersive Journey is a full sensory experience of nature and biodiversity presented through high-definition projections.

Admissions information: Advance ticket purchase is strongly recommended. The Museum is open from December 26 to January 5, daily from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. including Monday, December 30. Last entry to special exhibitions is at 4:30 pm. ROM is closed on December 25, 2023.

Presenting Sponsor