This June, ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) visitors will explore the natural wonders of the animal world and the mythical creatures they inspired in Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature. This exhibition in nearby Toronto, created by Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment and the Natural History Museum in London where it originally debuted, will be on display at ROM from June 11 through Jan. 2, 2023.
Following in the footsteps of Fantastic Beasts’ fictional Magi-zoologist Newt Scamander, visitors embark on an adventure into the wild where objects are not always what they seem and the creatures on display can be endlessly surprising. Visitors journey to a place in time where some people believed that unicorns roamed the earth, merpeople swam beneath the waves and sea monsters attacked ships. On display are an array of fascinating objects, including real animal specimens and their astonishing fictional counterparts, alongside immersive digital installations, costumes and props from the Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter films.
“Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature lives at the intersection of natural history and pop culture, deftly exploring the connections between the real and the imaginary,” says Josh Basseches, ROM Director & CEO. “In doing so, it reminds us of the extraordinary beauty and diversity of the natural world — and the urgent need to protect it.”
“The natural world around us is both familiar and exotic, from the beginning of life on Earth through eons of evolution and extinction,” says Dr. Kevin Seymour, vertebrate palaeontologist and curator for the ROM engagement of Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature. “As we study and learn more about nature, we can connect this knowledge with past myths about some incredible living creatures. For visitors, the exhibition beautifully combines the kind of work we do at ROM while also firing our imagination about truly magical, mythical creatures.”
Tickets are now available for advance purchase.
