Spring into fun for all ages during March Break at ROM

TORONTO, February 28, 2025 – Step into a world of March Break fun at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) as kids – and all who remain kids at heart – will discover a bounty of stories and surprises during a special “Hidden Treasures”-themed holiday week.

From Saturday, March 8 to Sunday, March 16, 2025, experience the wonders of art, culture, and nature held in ROM’s renowned galleries through special hands-on activities, interactive demonstrations, and live performances that bring the marvels of the world around us to life.

“With a dynamic mix of programs and performances for all ages, ROM is the ultimate family-friendly destination this March Break,” says Jennifer Wild, ROM Deputy Director, Engagement. “From joining our experts to discover the fascinating stories behind the Museum’s collections, to exploring objects that reveal surprising connections to art, culture, and nature, there’s something at the Museum to engage everyone.”

March Break programming will be presented throughout the Museum and is included with regular admission. 

Highlights include:

ACTIVITIES

Level One

• Meet the Experts: Nature’s Hidden Treasures – Chen Court
  Saturday, March 8 to Sunday, March 16, 12-4 p.m.

ROM experts bring visitors “behind the scenes” and present hidden treasures from the Museum’s collections not usually on display and share fascinating stories about the many secrets the objects hold.

• Stamp Your Story – Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Gallery of China
  Saturday, March 8 to Sunday, March 16, 11:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Discover Korea’s pioneering role in printmaking, explore historic metal moveable type, and use traditional techniques to create an original stamped design to add to a collective display.

• Colour Quest Scavenger Hunt (pick up your list of clues at the Information Desk)
  Saturday, March 8 to Sunday, March 16, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Inspired by the featured Nature in Brilliant Colour exhibition, embark on a self-guided scavenger hunt throughout the Museum to discover brilliant bursts of colour tucked away – or hidden in plain sight.

• Drop-in Workshops – Makerspace
  Saturday, March 8 and Saturday, March 15, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
  • March 8 – Cyanotype Printing: Create your own striking work of art using this early technique that produces cyan-blue prints.
  • March 15 – Fossil Formation: Create your very own fossil by pressing 3D-printed replicas of dinosaur bone specimens into clay.

Level Two

• Monarch Migration – Earth Rangers Studio
  Saturday, March 8 to Sunday, March 16, 11:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Experience hands-on activities, specimens, and immersive displays that bring to life the remarkable story of the Monarch butterfly’s fall migration.

• Exploring Herbivores and Carnivores Dino-Style! – Hands-On Biodiversity Gallery
  Saturday, March 8 to Sunday, March 16, 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Learn about the diets of a wide range of dinosaurs by examining fossils to find out what they ate – and how they avoided getting eaten!

• Prehistoric Play Zone – WonderWorks
  Saturday, March 8 to Sunday, March 16, 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Visit WonderWorks, the Museum space where play meets learning. Interactive experiences include games and activities, fossil investigations, and science exploration stations for curious kids (ages 3-8) and dinosaur enthusiasts of all ages.

• Ask an Interpreter: Exploring the Burgess Shale – Dawn of Life Gallery
  Monday, March 10 to Friday, March 14, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Take a special look at some of the weird and wonderful animals collected by ROM over the past 50 years from the Burgess Shale, an important Canadian geological heritage site. Get hands-on with fossils, reproductions, and expert insights into the ancient life of the Cambrian period.

PERFORMANCES
Level 1 – Currelly Gallery

Throughout March Break, the main stage will be buzzing with dynamic daily live performances and surprise pop-up acts! 

Highlights include:

• Sky-high stilt-walking – Currelly Gallery
  Saturday, March 8 to Thursday, March 13 – 12:30-12:45 p.m. & 1:45-2:00 p.m. daily

  Join performer Heath Tarlin as he brings various characters to life – all while perched high up on stilts!

• Big-top circus fun – Chen Court
  Saturday, March 8 to Monday, March 10 – 12:45-1:15 p.m. & 2:00-2:30 p.m. daily
  
  Incirque brings the wonders of the circus to the Museum with an interactive juggling performance sure to wow visitors of all ages.
   
• Marvellous magic tricks – Eaton Court
  Saturday, March 8 to Monday, March 10 – 1:30-2:00 p.m. & 2:45-3:15 p.m. daily
  
  Toronto’s favourite magician Fish the Magish returns to ROM with his astonishing – and very amusing – slight-of-hand illusions.
   

MARCH BREAK CAMP
Monday, March 10 to Friday, March 14, 2025, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

ROM’s popular March Break camps for kids aged 5 to 14 return with an exciting array of fun, activity-based programs inspired by the Museum’s diverse collections. Full-day programs include a supervised lunch, with extended after-hours care also available.

This year’s programming includes themes designed to engage campers of all ages, including:

• Ages 11-14: Dungeons & Dragons and History’s Mysteries (Learn about fascinating cultures and artifacts  – including those that inspired the modern game of D&D)
• Ages 8-10: Rumour Has It (Build skills and awareness by fact-checking history over the years)
• Ages 6-7: Voyage of Time (Navigate the waves of time through ROM galleries and collections)
• Age 5: Worldly Wonders (Delve into the history of Earth's astonishing landmarks)

Registration details: Public – $390 | Members – $360 | Extended Care – $75

FEATURED EXHIBITIONS

Current special exhibitions ongoing during the March Break period are surcharged, and include:

• Wildlife Photographer of the Year, from the Natural History Museum, London, presents the annual audience favourite nature photography competition and exhibition, displaying 100 breathtaking large-scale images of the natural world. (G Adventures, one of the world’s leading small-group travel companies, is the Supporting Sponsor for ROM’s presentation of the exhibition, and will be giving away a travel voucher – valued at $8,000 – to one lucky winner through an upcoming online contest.)
   
• Nature in Brilliant Colour is a kaleidoscopic journey through the vibrant hues of our planet. Anywhere you look in nature, colour holds meaning. Through over 200 specimens, photo-worthy projections, and shifting soundscapes, this exhibition – created by the Field Museum in Chicago and enhanced with highlights from ROM collections – takes visitors on a transformative experience that will deepen appreciation for the vivid and untamed beauty of our world.
   
• Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away., created by Musealia and co-produced by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, examines the history and legacy of the most significant site of the Holocaust. Survivor testimonials, historical documentation, and first-hand accounts by emancipating forces create a powerful connection to the exhibition's more than 500 original objects – most of which have never been seen before in Canada. (ROM’s presentation is made possible with support from Presenting Sponsors: The Azrieli Foundation, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, The Hennick Family Foundation, The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation, and the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.)

CONNECTION STATIONS

ROM's new Connection Stations invite visitors to reflect on Museum objects to build a deeper understanding of the world and how others may experience it. How do visitors' personal backgrounds shape their perceptions? How can current interpretations differ from when an object was produced? How could other people view the same object?

These interactive stations can be enjoyed alone or with other guests, and invite visitors to share in a collective conversation to recognize biases, consider the impact of perceptions, and foster greater understanding. Stations are equipped with Braille and QR codes to enable greater accessibility.

Admissions information: The Museum is open throughout March Break, from March 8 to March 16, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Last entry to special exhibitions is at 4:30 p.m. Entry to ROM is through the Weston Entrance on Queen’s Park, and through the President’s Choice School Entrance at the south end of the Museum.

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Image: March Break at ROM, 2024 | Photo: Wanda Dobrowlanski, © ROM.
 

CONTACTS:

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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. Today, ROM houses more than 13 million objects, from Egyptian mummies to contemporary sculpture, from meteorites to dinosaurs. ROM is the most visited museum in Canada and one of the top ten museums in North America. It is also the country’s preeminent field research institute, with a diverse range of experts who help us understand the past, make sense of the present, and shape a shared future. Just as impressive is ROM’s facility—a striking combination of heritage architecture and the cutting-edge Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, which marks the Museum as an iconic landmark and global cultural destination. 

We live on in what we leave behind.