Fantastic Beasts™: The Wonder of Nature comes to ROM

Discover how nature inspired the imaginary creatures of the Wizarding World

TORONTO, ON and LONDON, UK, April 7, 2022 – This June, ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) will be the first stop on an international tour of Fantastic Beasts™: The Wonder of Nature, the acclaimed exhibition created by Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment and the Natural History Museum in London where it originally debuted. Visitors will be able to explore the natural wonders of the animal world and the mythical creatures they inspired, juxtaposing animal species from nature with the magical creatures that inhabit the Wizarding World. Fantastic Beasts™: The Wonder of Nature will be on display at ROM from June 11, 2022, to January 2, 2023. 

Following in the footsteps of Fantastic Beasts' fictional Magi-zoologist Newt Scamander™, visitors embark on an adventure into the wild where objects are not always what they seem and the creatures on display can be endlessly surprising. Visitors journey to a place in time where some people believed that unicorns roamed the earth, merpeople swam beneath the waves and sea monsters attacked ships. On display are an array of fascinating objects, including real animal specimens and their astonishing fictional counterparts, alongside immersive digital installations, and costumes and props from the Fantastic Beasts™ and Harry Potter™ films.  

“Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature lives at the intersection of natural history and pop culture, deftly exploring the connections between the real and the imaginary,” says Josh Basseches, ROM Director & CEO. “In doing so, it reminds us of the extraordinary beauty and diversity of the natural world—and the urgent need to protect it.”

“Visitors in London truly loved Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature and we are delighted that ROM will be the next venue on the exhibition’s global tour. For an exhibition that has been a hugely successful collaboration between many partners, it seems only fitting to be working alongside yet another wonderful institution,” says Dr. Douglas Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum, London. “Visitors will explore the magical creatures of the Wizarding World and see the abilities they share with those in the natural world and how these creatures can be just as fantastic. We hope visitors in Toronto will be inspired by the great Newt Scamander and Museum scientists to protect the future of our planet and the creatures we share it with.”

Peter van Roden, Senior Vice President of Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment. “This exhibition provides the millions of fans of the Wizarding World an incredible way to further connect with their favorite characters and creatures they know and love from the franchise. Fans can enjoy the all-new adventure film, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore then head into the exhibition at ROM for an unforgettable up-close look at some of the creatures and beasts from the stories and real-life inspirations.

The exhibition highlights how real animals have been reimagined as the myths, legends and magical creatures that have shaped our storytelling throughout the ages. Among the real-world creatures on display, the exhibition showcases a dragon-like dinosaur species recently discovered in South Dakota in 2004, which scientists named Dracorex hogwartsia in honour of the fictional and famed Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Among the fantastical creatures on display, the exhibition features the fictional platypus-like Nifflers and the stick bug-like Bowtruckle. While drawing parallels between magical creatures and real animals, visitors discover how animals from the natural world are as extraordinary as the imaginary ones. And by highlighting endangered imaginary beasts like the Erumpent, the exhibition also shines a light on real-world creatures that are struggling for survival. This spellbinding exhibition combines science, nature and the creative power of literature and film to spark curiosity about the animals we share this planet with and the importance of wildlife conservation.  

“The natural world around us is both familiar and exotic, from the beginning of life on Earth through eons of evolution and extinction,” says Dr. Kevin Seymour, vertebrate palaeontologist and curator for the ROM engagement of Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature. “As we study and learn more about nature, we can connect this knowledge with past myths about some incredible living creatures. For visitors, the exhibition beautifully combines the kind of work we do at ROM while also firing our imagination about truly magical, mythical creatures.”

Tickets go on sale starting
Member tickets: April 27, 2022
Public tickets: May 5, 2022

Membership
Members will have the first opportunity to experience the new gallery at the Member Preview on Friday, June 10 and Saturday, June 11, 2022.  Members have advanced access to reserving exhibition tickets beginning April 27, 2022. Timed-tickets are free for ROM Members, as well as access to galleries and exhibitions included with a membership.

Google Arts & Culture Digital Experience 
Delve into the Fantastic Beasts™: The Wonder of Nature collection with Google Arts & Culture; a curated digital exhibition created in partnership with the Natural History Museum, London. https://artsandculture.google.com/project/nhm-fantastic-beasts  

Notes to the Editors:
The Fantastic Beasts™: The Wonder of Nature exhibition closed at the Natural History Museum, London, after a seven-month run which attracted over 135,000 visitors. An accompanying documentary from the BBC Studios Natural History Unit presented by Stephen Fry aired on BBC One in February 2022. The documentary was broadcast on 1 April on HBO Max and more international broadcasters are expected. 

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Image Credit
WIZARDING WORLD: © & ™ WBEI. Publishing Rights © JKR. (s22), 
File: Main Image Art - FB – Landscape.jpg

Visiting ROM: Visitors are encouraged to purchase timed tickets in advance. Please see our Visitor Policy online for up-to-date information about entering the Museum.

PRESS CONTACTS
General: media@rom.on.ca 
David McKay, Senior Communications Specialist, davidm@rom.on.ca   
Natural History Museum, press@nhm.ac.uk 
Lindsay Kiesel, Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment, Lindsay.Kiesel@warnerbros.com 

ROM Social Media  
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About ROM                
Opened in 1914, ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) showcases art, culture and nature from around the world and across the ages. Among the top 10 cultural institutions in North America, Canada’s largest and most comprehensive museum is home to a world-class collection of 13 million art objects and natural history specimens, featured in 40 gallery and exhibition spaces. As the country’s preeminent field research institute and an international leader in new and original findings, ROM plays a vital role in advancing our understanding of the artistic, cultural and natural world. Combining its original heritage architecture with the contemporary Daniel Libeskind-designed Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, ROM serves as a national landmark, and a dynamic cultural destination in the heart of Toronto for all to enjoy.

About the Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is both a world-leading science research centre and the most visited natural history museum in Europe. With a vision of a future in which both people and the planet thrive, it is uniquely positioned to be a powerful champion for balancing humanity’s needs with those of the natural world. 

It is custodian of one of the world’s most important scientific collections comprising over 80 million specimens. The scale of this collection enables researchers from all over the world to document how species have and continue to respond to environmental changes - which is vital in helping predict what might happen in the future and informing future policies and plans to help the planet. 

The Museum’s 300 scientists continue to represent one of the largest groups in the world studying and enabling research into every aspect of the natural world. Their science is contributing critical data to help the global fight to save the future of the planet from the major threats of climate change and biodiversity loss through to finding solutions such as the sustainable extraction of natural resources. 

The Museum uses its enormous global reach and influence to meet its mission to create advocates for the planet - to inform, inspire and empower everyone to make a difference for nature. We welcome over five million visitors each year; our digital output reaches hundreds of thousands of people in over 200 countries each month and our touring exhibitions have been seen by around 20 million people in the last 10 years.

About Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment
Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment (WBTE), part of WarnerMedia Global Brands and Experiences, is a worldwide leader in the creation, development and licensing of location-based entertainment, live events, exhibits and theme park experiences based on WarnerMedia’s iconic characters, stories, and brands. WBTE is home to the groundbreaking global locations of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, WB Movie World Australia, and countless other experiences inspired by DC, Looney Tunes, Scooby, Game of Thrones, Friends and more. With best-in-class partners, WBTE allows fans around the world to physically immerse themselves inside their favorite brands and franchises.

About Wizarding World 
In the years since Harry Potter was whisked from King’s Cross Station onto Platform nine and three quarters, his incredible adventures have left a unique and lasting mark on popular culture. Eight blockbuster Harry Potter films based on the original stories by J.K. Rowling have brought the magical stories to life and today, the Wizarding World is recognised as one of the world’s best-loved brands. 

Representing a vast interconnected universe, it also includes two epic Fantastic Beasts films, (the third releasing in 2022), Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – the multi-award-winning stage-play, state-of-the-art video and mobile games from Portkey Games, innovative consumer products, thrilling live entertainment (including four theme park lands) and insightful exhibitions.
 
This expanding portfolio of Warner Bros. owned Wizarding World experiences also includes Harry Potter New York – a brand new flagship store, Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo, and the Platform 9 3⁄4 retail shops.
 
The Wizarding World continues to evolve to provide Harry Potter fans with fresh and exciting ways to engage. For the worldwide fan community, and for generations to come, it welcomes everyone in to explore and discover the magic for themselves.

WIZARDING WORLD and all related trademarks, characters, names, and indicia are © & ™ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Publishing Rights © JKR. (s22)