In the Canadian city of Toronto is the famous Royal Ontario Museum Exhibition Complex, which is North America’s largest ethnographic, cultural, and historical center. A huge number of exhibits brought from other countries, collections are constantly updated.
Unique exhibition complex
ROM - Royal Ontario Museum (under such an abbreviation the museum appears in documents) - is located at the intersection of Avenue Road and Blaur Street, it borders Queen's Park in the north and the Philosopher's Path (territory of the University of Toronto) in the east.
There are many interesting places in Canada, but there are several attractions of national importance, including the Royal Ontario Museum. Toronto, a city with a population of three million, boasts a unique exhibition complex whose history goes back to the century before last. Some expositions in numerous galleries even today reflect the events surrounding the appearance of ROM.
A bit of history
The Royal Ontario Museum was founded in 1857 at the Toronto School of Education and was called the Exhibition of Fine Arts and Ethnography. In 1912, the government of Ontario decided to establish a museum. Initially, it was an exposition located on the premises of the university. The exhibition belonged to the historical faculty. In 1968, the exposition acquired the status of an independent institution, separated from university structures and began to be called as it is called today - the Royal Ontario Museum. Toronto, the city at that time was not yet as populated, took over a new cultural institution. The exhibition complex began to develop at a rapid pace.
Visitors from all over the world
Toronto, Canada, Ontario Museum - This area of study attracts tourists from all over the world. Every year, a unique exhibition is visited by more than a million lovers of antiquity. It would be more correct to write “The Ontario Museum” first, and then “Toronto, Canada”, since the popularity of the exhibition complex is so great that tourists from the airport first come to Blaur Street to look at the miracle of architecture, and only then go to the hotel.
The world-famous collection of the museum consists of six million different exhibits housed in forty active galleries and storerooms. In the expositions one can trace the evolution of the Earth, get acquainted with extinct biological species, as well as with those representatives of the fauna that are currently on the verge of extinction, are listed in the Red Book and need protection.
Prehistoric exhibits
The Royal Ontario Museum is rightly proud of the rarest fossils of the Cretaceous and Jurassic periods, the skeletons of the dinosaurs Parasaurolophus and Barosaurus. Ancient reptiles are collected in a separate exhibition. The museum owns the largest collection in the world of Burgess shale mined in Yoho National Park. The total number of fossils reaches one hundred and fifty thousand specimens.
A separate collection includes meteorites that fell to the earth many centuries ago, rare minerals and precious stones. The peak of the exhibition is the legendary Tserussite "Light of the Desert." Next to it is the no less famous Tagish meteorite.
Foreign and national values
The Royal Ontario Museum presents its galleries with collections of fine art from the Middle East, Asia, the African continent, China and Malaysia.
But the central expositions of the museum are still of a national character and relate to the history of the development of Canada and the tectonic past of the land on which the country is located.
Several extensive expositions are dedicated to the East, both prehistoric and modern. Fragments of the masonry of the Chinese temple of the Yuan Dynasty with wall painting are impressive. Drawings date from the twelfth century AD. It also features wooden sculptures of bodhisattvas in the mid-fourteenth century. Separately located ceramic image "Yuxian" of the reign of the Liao Dynasty (tenth century AD). In the next room on the podium stands an Egyptian sarcophagus with a mummy brought from Luxor.
Next, you can see the bust of Cleopatra Filopator, the full-length statue of the goddess Sekhmet, the sculpture "The Blue Lady" of the ancient Mumbai artist, the military armor of Count William Herbert, and much more.
In addition to exhibition activities, the museum is engaged in research projects that relate mainly to historical and architectural research.
Structure
The Ontario Museum begins with a central staircase that connects the lobby with the upper floors. Step flights are a series of glazed windows with exhibits that reflect a particular time period, starting from the prehistoric period to the present day.
The second floor was given over to dinosaurs, and here are the skeletons of giant reptile fossils.
The third floor features art from African countries, South America and East Asia. Hundreds of masks from Nigeria and Ethiopia, Kenyan drums. A special place is occupied by the exposition of the palace arrangement of Chinese mandarins and emperors. The traditions adopted in the houses of the rulers are clearly shown, everywhere there are stuffed Pekingese, beloved dogs of the rulers, a wife with fans, located at a respectful distance from the throne of his overlord.
The fourth floor is a space dedicated to contemporary art. Here are paintings and graphics, sculptures and bas-reliefs. In addition to permanent exhibitions, exhibitions of works by artists are regularly held, which are decorated in the style of vernissages. Visitors can purchase their favorite picture.
On the fifth floor there is an observation platform with stereo tubes located around the perimeter, with which you can see the panorama of Toronto. There is also a cozy restaurant, on its menu you can find the most unusual exotic dishes.
Popularity
The Royal Ontario Museum is one of those wonderful creations of human hands that you don't want to leave. The place is so popular with tourists that people come back again and again to get acquainted with new exhibits, which constantly replenish the exhibition halls.