ROM’s New Interactive Gallery Explores the World of Modern Mining
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ROM’s New Interactive Gallery Explores the World of Modern Mining
Barrick Gold Corporation Gallery Opens At the ROM
This new permanent gallery showcases a range of mineral specimens as well as presentations on the global mining industry, including stories about mining, and how the mining industry impacts our daily lives. The digitally enhanced games and other interactives, such as a touch wall are the most advanced, hands-on, user-driven visitor experiences in the ROM.
“The ROM is delighted to share the Barrick Gold Corporation Gallery in our Teck Suite of Galleries with our visitors and inspire them to discover more about mining. From the interactive games to specimen displays, this gallery illustrates the importance of mining in our daily lives and discusses the social and environmental responsibilities surrounding mining as well as our responsibilities as consumers of products of the Earth. We are grateful to our partners and sponsors, including Barrick Gold Corporation and our Advisory Council, for their valued support,” said Janet Carding, ROM Director and CEO.
The generous $3M gift from Barrick Gold Corporation will also fund educational programming at the ROM with a new education coordinator role in mining and Earth Sciences, and a classroom in the Museum’s Learning Centre, which welcomes over 150,000 students each year.
“Barrick is proud to support the ROM in providing students, children and visitors with such an innovative, interactive and educational museum experience,” says Jamie Sokalsky, President and CEO, Barrick Gold Corporation. “We are pleased to enhance the ROM’s internationally renowned permanent collection and contribute to the discussion on and understanding of the world of modern mining.”
Gallery Highlights
The gallery consists of a state of the art table game, an interactive wall, a giant pure gold coin, a touchable wall of gold ore, and cases with specimens and objects and videos.
The Challenge of Mining Game
At the heart of the gallery is the Challenge of Mining game. Featuring a multi-touch table, the game can be played by up to eight players in the Museum and another four mobile players, by downloading the ROMining Game App. This intergenerational game requires players to choose a specific character, representative of a mining stakeholder (miner, local community member among them) and, working together, players are challenged to “manage” a successful, ethical, and productive mining operation.
Responsible Miners, Responsible Consumers Interactive Wall
This multi-touch digital wall features images, illustrations and text which let visitors explore the extent of our reliance upon the products of mining and encourages them to make responsible decisions in consuming these valuable resources.
Gold Coin
Produced by the Royal Canadian Mint, the gallery features an authentic $1M gold coin, made from 99.999% pure gold; the coin weighs in at 100 kilograms, and is legal tender in Canada. In 2007, the Guinness Book of World Records confirmed this coin was as the largest of its kind in the world.
Gold Ore Specimen Display Wall
Extracted from Barrick’s Hemlo mine near Thunder Bay, Ontario, and made from 2.9 tonnes of real gold ore, this touchable wall features a 1.3 ounce sample of processed gold, precisely the amount that could be recovered from this quantity of ore.
The gallery also features an introductory video, Mining: Industrial, Challenging, Essential, along with a Products of the Earth display, and a longer video, entitled Mine to Market, which provides a narrative of gold prospecting, mining and processing technology (length: 3:18).
Advisory Council
Based on ROM curatorial content, the development of the Barrick Gold Corporation Gallery was supported by a mining Advisory Council, formed to provide a feedback on the accuracy of the science and descriptions of mining in the gallery. This Council comprises leaders in mining-related fields from mining companies, professional associations, environmental and Aboriginal organizations, and universities.
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