If you have ever walked past the giant glass crystal on Bloor Street, you already know the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is hard to miss. Step inside and you will find much more than dinosaur bones and ancient treasures. For families, the ROM feels like a treasure chest where every corner hides a new surprise. Some are big and obvious, others are tiny details you would only notice if someone pointed them out.
What makes this museum extra fun is that it is not only about looking at objects behind glass. It is about discovering the weird, the wonderful, and the “wait, really?!” moments that stay with kids long after the visit. Imagine telling your child that the meteorite in front of them is older than the Earth, or that they can actually step inside a whale’s heart the size of a small car. Suddenly, history and science are no longer just facts. They become adventures.
Here are some of the coolest fun facts about the ROM that will spark your kids’ curiosity before your visit.
1. The Museum That Started With Just One Room
The ROM’s grand lobby often highlights upcoming special exhibitions.
When the ROM first opened its doors in 1914, it was a much smaller place than the one we know today. The original building had only one wing and a few collections that people could explore. Visitors came to see carefully chosen treasures, but there were no dinosaur skeletons stretching toward the ceiling, no bat cave filled with sound and light, and no giant gemstone cave to step inside. Over the decades, new wings and galleries were added piece by piece, until the museum grew into the largest in Canada. Kids often enjoy imagining how tiny it must have felt in the beginning compared to the massive space they can explore now.
2. Why It’s Called the Royal Ontario Museum
The museum’s historic entryway with its stone arches and stained glass details.
The museum was not always called the Royal Ontario Museum. At first it was simply the Ontario Museum, a straightforward name for a new cultural landmark. Just before it officially opened in 1914, King George V granted it the honor of being “Royal.” The new title made the museum sound grand and important, and it has kept the name ever since. For children, it can be fun to picture the museum getting crowned in a way, like a superhero being given a new title that makes it stand out from the rest.
3. The ROM Is Older Than the CN Tower
When families think of Toronto’s skyline, the CN Tower usually comes to mind first. But the ROM has been around much longer. The museum opened in 1914, while the CN Tower was not completed until 1976. That means the ROM was welcoming visitors more than sixty years before the tower started offering views of the city. For kids, it is a fun way to imagine Toronto’s history: the museum was already filled with ancient treasures long before the famous tower ever touched the sky.
4. Why the Building Looks Like a Giant Crystal
One of the first things kids notice about the ROM is the strange, pointy glass and metal addition that seems to burst out of the older stone building. This is the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind and opened in 2007. The sharp angles are meant to look like crystals growing out of the earth, reflecting the treasures found inside the museum. Some people say it looks amazing, while others think it looks like a spaceship crash-landed in downtown Toronto. Either way, it always gets kids talking and makes the building itself part of the adventure.
5. Dinosaurs Were the First Big Stars of the Museum
Towering fossil skeletons showcase the scale of Ice Age mammals.
When the ROM first opened more than a century ago, dinosaurs were already the biggest attraction. Fossils and skeletons captured the imagination of visitors then just as they do today. Early paleontologists worked hard to piece together the bones so people could see what these ancient creatures looked like. Over time, new discoveries were added, including fossils that show feathers on some species, helping kids see how dinosaurs are connected to birds. Even after all these years, the dinosaur galleries remain the place where families spend the most time, staring up at giants from millions of years ago.
6. Canada’s Biggest Museum, With 13 Million Treasures
The ROM’s collection includes marble busts of emperors and citizens from ancient Rome.
The ROM is not only Toronto’s largest museum, it is also the biggest in all of Canada. Its collection holds more than 13 million objects, from tiny insects to massive dinosaur skeletons. Only a small part of these treasures can be displayed at once, which means most of the collection is carefully stored away for scientists to study. For kids, the idea that there are secret rooms full of things the public never sees adds a sense of mystery. It makes the museum feel almost endless, with surprises waiting around every corner.
7. Canada’s Tallest Totem Pole Once Stood Here
For many years the ROM held the record for the tallest totem pole displayed indoors in Canada. It measured more than twenty-five metres high and stretched through several floors of the museum. Visitors could look up from the bottom of the staircase and see it towering above them, carved with animals and figures that told stories from Indigenous traditions. The pole was eventually taken down for conservation, but many families still remember the feeling of standing at its base and craning their necks to see the top. Sharing its story is a way for kids to learn how art can also be history and storytelling combined.
8. Meteorites That Are Older Than Earth
Some of the smallest objects in the museum are also the most ancient. The ROM has meteorites that are about 4.5 billion years old, which makes them older than the planet we live on. These rocks travelled through space before crashing onto Earth, carrying with them clues about how the solar system was formed. Children are often amazed to learn that they can stand just a few steps away from a rock that is literally older than our world. It is like holding a piece of outer space in your imagination.
9. A Gemstone Cave You Can Step Inside
Deep inside the museum is a sparkling purple geode that comes from Thunder Bay, Ontario. It is so big that kids can actually step inside and feel like they are standing in a gemstone cave. The walls shimmer with amethyst crystals that catch the light and make the whole space glow. This dazzling display helps children picture what the inside of the Earth might look like and shows how nature can create treasures that seem almost magical.
10. Thunderstorms Inside the Bat Cave
The ROM’s Bat Cave is one of the most popular stops for families, and it is no ordinary display. Along with hundreds of bats on the walls and ceilings, the exhibit also includes sound and light effects that make it feel like a tropical storm is rolling through. Visitors can hear thunder and see flashes of lightning while they walk through the dark cave. It gives kids the thrill of being in a jungle without ever leaving Toronto, and it makes the experience more exciting than simply reading about bats in a book.
11. Step Inside a Blue Whale’s Heart
Blue whales are the largest animals on Earth, and their hearts are massive too. At the ROM, kids can actually step inside a giant model of a blue whale’s heart to see just how big it really is. The heart is taller than most children and wide enough for them to stand inside comfortably. It is an unforgettable way to understand the size of these gentle giants, and it turns a scientific fact into a moment of pure wonder.
12. A Museum That Never Sleeps
Roman mosaics preserved from antiquity on display at the ROM.
Even when the lights are off and the doors are locked, the ROM is still busy. Behind the galleries are vast collections and research labs where scientists continue their work long after visitors go home. In fact, only about one percent of the museum’s treasures are on display at any time. The rest are carefully stored for study and preservation. For children, it is fascinating to think about secret rooms filled with hidden artifacts, waiting to be explored by experts who treat the museum like a never-ending adventure.
Why the ROM Is More Than a Museum
Visiting the Royal Ontario Museum is much more than walking through halls of displays. It is a chance for kids to step into stories that stretch from the age of the dinosaurs to the mysteries of outer space. Whether they are standing inside a sparkling gemstone cave, waiting for a thunderstorm to rumble in the bat exhibit, or looking up at fossils that prove dinosaurs had feathers, every corner of the ROM has a surprise.
Pottery and artifacts from the end of the Bronze Age in Greece.
The fun facts are a reminder that the museum is not only about objects behind glass. It is about imagination, discovery, and the thrill of learning something new together as a family. On your next trip to Toronto, set aside a few hours to explore the ROM. You may find that your children leave with more questions than answers, and that is the best part. A museum built on curiosity has a way of making every visit feel like the start of a new adventure
Beaver Curious
If there’s a quirky museum, a hidden alley, or a local legend, you’ll find me nose-deep in the details. Every destination is a treasure map, and I’m here to discover every secret, snack, and story. Curiosity isn’t just a trait, it’s my travel compass!
