The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year, making the ROM the most-visited museum in Canada.

Along with fresh new exhibits, ROM’s permanent collection includes around one million objects of art and culture gathered from around the world. With objects dating back to a range of time periods, from prehistoric civilization to present-day, visitors can explore the artwork, archaeology, fashion, and decor of ancient Asian, European, Greek, Roman, African, and Indigenous culture.

ROM holds Canada’s largest collection of natural history specimens, giving visitors the chance to explore an extensive treasure trove of findings. Perhaps the most alluring is the collection of gems that sparkle and shine as you walk through the gallery. Diamonds aside, if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to have the fossil of a 200 year-old dinosaur tower over you, or what it’s like to walk through a bat cave, check out ROM.

Don’t forget to enjoy the views and look up when you’re at the museum—you just might find the ROM’s gorgeous mosaicked ceiling!

Fun facts about the ROM

• ROM was founded in 1914
• ROM is located on ancestral lands of several First Nations
• ROM’s courtyard is a public space where Torontonians can enjoy a garden and a view of the crystal-shaped facade
• ROM is the biggest museum in Canada
• ROM is the fifth biggest museum in North America
• The museum is home to more than 13 million objects, including artwork, fossils, cultural items and more
• The museum’s dinosaur fossils span hundreds of millions of years

We will leave from ACCESS together and take the TTC to the Toronto Island Ferry.  From there, we will board the ferry for a short ride to the Island.  We will spend an hour or two exploring the Island and enjoying the (hopefully!) good weather!

About the Toronto Islands

The Toronto Islands – also called the Island, or Toronto Island Park – is located in Lake Ontario, a 13-minute ferry ride from downtown Toronto. Boats to the Island leave from the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal at the foot of Bay St. and Queen’s Quay. The Island is actually a group of 15 islands inter-connected by pathways and bridges. You can walk from one end of the Island to the other.

The island is approximately 5kms long from Ward’s Island to Hanlan’s Point.

Kids and adults of all ages can find something to do or see on the Island. There are beautiful swimming beaches (including a Clothing Optional Beach on Hanlan’s Point!), sports facilities, bike, canoe and kayak rentals, a boating marina, large grassy fields for picnics, a theatre, nature paths, EMS and fire station, an amusement park and a charming 150 year-old community of 600 people living year-round in cottage-like homes.

You can walk, run or take your bike on the island, walk your dog (on a leash), visit the 200 year old lighthouse or the trout pond or have a coffee or beer at one of the restaurants. There are lockers at several busy locations, a pier, boardwalk, formal gardens, playgrounds, artists retreat and even a public grade school.