The Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto)

Simply referred to as the ROM by locals, The Royal Ontario Museum is the largest museum in Canada with a monumental collection of over six million exhibits of natural history and world culture. It is a sprawling site with numerous large exhibition halls and offers a colourful journey into the past to rediscover lost civilisations, ancient tribal art, long extinct mammals and the biodiversity of the modern natural world. It is the perfect Toronto family city breaks attraction for a rainy day and kids will love exploring the dinosaur galleries or the interactive and slightly creepy bat cave exhibition.

 

Budding young naturalists can get touchy feely in the biodiversity galleries, where visitors can immerse themselves in exotic flora and fauna specimens and learn about climate change and conservation in a fun and intuitive way. Lovers of exotic ancient art can browse through two floors of priceless relics from Native American tribes, Bronze Age hunter gatherers and a wide variety of objects from ancient Greece, Egypt and India. Of special interest to those on short breaks in Toronto is one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of Chinese temple art and treasures from the Orient that will amaze and inspire all ages.

 

There is also an interesting gallery devoted to contemporary art and culture which youngsters are sure to find inspiring and engaging. Eye catching exhibits include funky graffiti art, expressionist fashion photography and Japanese Manga comic strip art. Younger kids will also love the museum theatre which is devoted to Native American storytelling. To save a little time on weekend breaks in Toronto, a guided tour is the best way to explore its most compelling highlights quickly and provides a vivid insight into the mysteries of mother earth and ancient history.