Before the dinosaurs, there were the bats. From its opening in 1988 until they were overwhelmed by Libeskind's
pretty new box for the old bones, the
Royal Ontario Museum's
Bat Cave was its consistently biggest draw.
But a recent renovation, completed last week, is aimed at giving the T-Rex a run for its money. Much of the reason for the renovation was simply the exhibit's age, according to Bat Cave curator Burton Lim. "It's an open exhibit," he says, "so things get dusty and dirty over 22 years."
The renovation also includes new video screens, a documentary filmed by ROM curators in Jamaica this past January at the St. Clair cave that originally inspired the Bat Cave, and new flooring made to resemble a stone floor to replace the old brown industrial carpeting.
Funding came in part from a $2.75-million federal government grant that covered several gallery projects, and from private donors, including
Thomas Kierans and Mary Janigan.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Burton Lam, ROM