Warm Up with ROM this Winter

The Museum reopens its doors February 2, 2022

TORONTO, Jan. 27, 2022 – ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) is pleased to reopen to the public this coming Wednesday, February 2, in accordance with guidance from Ontario Public Health. In addition to the spectacular new Willner Madge Gallery, Dawn of Life, newly opened in December, visitors can enjoy the highly-popular exhibitions Great Whales and Wildlife Photographer of the Year and two exhibitions free of charge: Unmasking the Pandemic and #MyPandemicStory. ROM’s First Peoples art & culture gallery is also free to the public. The Museum is also debuting a suite of self-guided indoor walking “trails,” a new distance-based discount on tickets, and extended hours and special activities for Family Day weekend. Tickets are on sale now.

#HiketheROM: Launching February 16, 2022
This winter, visitors can escape the cold and get their steps in at ROM! Follow the Museum’s new #HiketheROM Trails and explore its spacious galleries with perfect weather, every time. Two trails of different lengths - Walk on the Wild Side Trail and Eternal Life Trail - help visitors reach their step goals while going on a journey of discovery. Check ROM’s website soon for more details.

Family Day: February 19 to 21, 2022
ROM is celebrating Family Day Weekend with an extended schedule spanning Saturday, February 19 to Monday, February 21. With four exciting exhibitions on view, the extraordinary Willner Madge Gallery, Dawn of Life—a world-first gallery dedicated to Earth’s earliest life forms—and special weekend activities, families can start 4 billion years ago with the world’s oldest fossil evidence of life and end in the present moment with an exhibition of contemporary children's art.

Extended! Great Whales and Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Due to high demand, Great Whales: Up Close and Personal's run has been extended to June 26, 2022, allowing more visitors to enjoy the unique world of these majestic giants. The exhibition displays three real whale skeletons—the sperm whale, the blue whale, and the North Atlantic right whale—combined with fascinating science and large-scale audio and video experiences. Visitor-favourite Wildlife Photographer of the Year has also been extended to May 29, 2022, so more people can see the longest-running and most prestigious nature photography competition in the world. This exhibition is organized and presented by the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London.

Free to the public! Exhibitions Unmasking the Pandemic and #MyPandemicStory, and First Peoples art & culture gallery
Visitors will be able to enjoy two free exhibitions. Unmasking the Pandemic: From Personal Protection to Personal Expression presents over 100 original masks from artists from over 23 countries, which reflects their makers' stories of resilience, cultural identity, and collective humanity in the face of a global crisis. ROM’s first crowd-sourced exhibition #MyPandemicStory: Youth Create Portraits of a Pandemic is one of the few pandemic-related exhibitions worldwide to focus on children’s points of view. The exhibition displays 60 selected artworks that form a stirring portrait of the complex journeys young people have experienced during the pandemic. Both exhibitions are open through March 27, 2022, and are free of charge, with no pre-purchased tickets required. Another free attraction is the Daphne Cockwell Gallery dedicated to First Peoples art & culture, which features more than one thousand works of art and cultural heritage. Visitors can explore a rich cultural legacy embodied in objects devoted to travel, subsistence, family life, the spiritual world, and artistic expressions.

Distance Discount: February 8, 2022 through March 20, 2022
ROM invites visitors from around the province to get a boost of art, culture, and nature this winter with distance-based discounts. Ontarians living in postal codes starting with the letter L get a 20% discount, starting with the letters N and K get a 30% discount and starting with the letter P get a 40% discount. Check ROM’s website soon for more details.

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ROM Boutique, Druxy’s ROM Café, and event services will operate with 50 per cent capacity. Temporary space closures include: CIBC Discovery Gallery and Brown Bag Lunchroom. ROM's limited reopening does not currently include: guided tours (inside or outside the Museum), school-based visits. 

COVID-19

Admission to the Museum is limited and time ticketed. Tickets should be purchased online. All visitors ages 12 and older must show proof of vaccinations when entering the Museum. See the online Visitor Guidelines for the most current COVID-19 protocols.

CONTACTS:

ROM Communications
media@rom.on.ca

ROM Social Media
Instagram: @romtoronto
Facebook: @royalontariomuseum
Twitter: @ROMToronto

ABOUT ROM 
Opened in 1914, 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.