New Cambrian Gallery Opening at the ROM

[suspsy]

Haven't been to Toronto since 2019; sure would love to go there sometime next year, pending a big improvement in the state of the world.

https://www.rom.on.ca/en/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/landmark-new-gallery-opens-at-rom-willner-madge-gallery-dawn-of?fbclid=IwAR2OPbTCZPhIUfuJ9vTj9QhnHsbN1XEr3QZob9O2WO7xalrkfhEE-B7Dr3c

Dawn of Life feature fossils:
·       The earliest currently known evidence of life comes from fossils of banded iron formation discovered near Inukjuak, Québec, which are between 4.28 to 3.77 billion years old and which have microscopic tubes made by microbes.
·       Billion-year-old stromatolites (microbial formations) from Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories, and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Following the evolution of photosynthesis, stromatolites released massive amounts of oxygen, helping make the Earth's atmosphere breathable for the first time.
·       Fossils of multicellular life, such as the standing frond Charniodiscus procerus, from Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Newfoundland and Labrador, record when "life got big" 575 million years ago during the Ediacaran Period.
·       A magnificent trilobite collection from several provinces in Canada and all across the world including spectacular specimens from Russia and Morocco. Trilobites, a group of extinct arthropods, existed for hundreds of millions of years (since the beginning of the Cambrian Period), but were one of the groups of animals that died out by the end of the Permian extinction 252 million years ago, the biggest extinction event in history.
·       The 375-million-year-old Eusthenopteron foordi, a lobe-finned fish, and Elpistostege watsoni, a transitional form, marked the way to early four-legged land animals during the Devonian Period and come from Miguasha National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Québec.
·       The tree-like Sigillaria sp. stumps from the 319-million-year-old Joggins Fossil Cliffs (UNESCO World Heritage Site) in Nova Scotia, formed during the Carboniferous Period, contributed to an oxygen-rich world.
·       Dimetrodon borealis, one of the most iconic fossils from the Permian Period, was first discovered in 1845 in PEI. The exhibit showcases the 285-million-year-old original historical specimen (the lower jaw) on loan for the first time to ROM for display, alongside a fully mounted cast skeleton.   
·       A 226-million-year-old ichthyosaur, Macgowania janiceps, from the Triassic Period deposits of Williston Lake, west of the town of Hudson's Hope, British Columbia, is a type of reptile that returned to a life in the seas (and is named after emeritus ROM curator Dr. Chris McGowan).

[stargatedalek]

I seem to be in the minority, but I was extremely disappointed when I visited ROM. The gallery feels very cold and clinical, like an art gallery. No warm lighting, no scenery, no life reconstructions, just bones on pedestals with washed out grey backdrops.

While it would be nice to see something different, I'm skeptical this won't be more of the same.

[suspsy]

I seem to be in the minority, but I was extremely disappointed when I visited ROM. The gallery feels very cold and clinical, like an art gallery. No warm lighting, no scenery, no life reconstructions, just bones on pedestals with washed out grey backdrops.

While it would be nice to see something different, I'm skeptical this won't be more of the same.

That's the popular trend of natural history museums these days, I'm afraid. The AMNH galleries are the same. So are the ones at the Smithsonian. Nevertheless, I'm always keen to see Cambrian fossils on display.

[Dusty Wren]

I seem to be in the minority, but I was extremely disappointed when I visited ROM. The gallery feels very cold and clinical, like an art gallery. No warm lighting, no scenery, no life reconstructions, just bones on pedestals with washed out grey backdrops.

Nah, I'm with you on this. When Deep Time opened at the Smithsonian, I could appreciate the exhibits from a pedagogical standpoint, but it still felt like walking into an Apple store to me.

I wish more museums styled their exhibits like Dinosaurs in Their Time at the Carnegie. It does a much better job of putting the animals into the context of their ecosystems, without looking outdated or sacrificing the education aspect.