UPDATED: “Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature” Coming to Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum This Summer

Fantastic Beasts™: The Wonder of Nature comes to Royal Ontario Museum
Discover how nature inspired the imaginary creatures of the Wizarding World

TORONTO, ON and London, UK, April 7, 2022 – This June, ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) will be the first stop on an international tour of Fantastic Beasts™: The Wonder of Nature, the acclaimed exhibition created by Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment and the Natural History Museum in London, where it originally debuted. Visitors will be able to explore the natural wonders of the animal world and the mythical creatures they inspired, juxtaposing animal species from nature with the magical creatures that inhabit the Wizarding World. Fantastic Beasts™: The Wonder of Nature will be on display at ROM from June 11, 2022, to January 2, 2023.

Following in the footsteps of Fantastic Beast’s [sic] fictional Magi-zoologist [sic] 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 [E]arth, 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 and 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.”

“Visitors in London truly loved Fantastic Beasts: The Wonder of Nature, and we are delighted that ROM will be the next venue on the exhibition’s global tour. For an exhibition that has been a hugely successful collaboration between many partners, it seems only fitting to be working alongside yet another wonderful institution,” says Dr. Douglas Gurr, Director of the Natural History Museum, London. “Visitors will explore the magical creatures of the Wizarding World and see the abilities they share with those in the natural world and how these creatures can be just as fantastic. We hope visitors in Toronto will be inspired by the great Newt Scamander and [m]useum scientists to protect the future of our planet and the creatures we share it with.”

Peter van Roden, Senior Vice President of Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment. “This exhibition provides the millions of fans of the Wizarding World an incredible way to further connect with their favorite characters and creatures they know and love from the franchise. Fans can enjoy the all-new adventure film Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore [and] then head into the exhibition at ROM for an unforgettable up-close look at some of the creatures and beasts from the stories and real-life inspirations.

The exhibition highlights how real animals have been reimagined as the myths, legends and magical creatures that have shaped our storytelling throughout the ages. Among the real-world creatures on display, the exhibition showcases a dragon-like dinosaur species recently discovered in South Dakota in 2004, which scientists named Dracorex hogwartsia in honor of the fictional and famed Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Among the fantastical creatures on display, the exhibition features the fictional platypus-like Nifflers and the stick bug-like Bowtruckle. While drawing parallels between magical creatures and real animals, visitors discover how animals from the natural world are as extraordinary as the imaginary ones. And by highlighting endangered imaginary beasts like the Erumpent, the exhibition also shines a light on real-world creatures that are struggling for survival. This spellbinding exhibition combines science, nature and the creative power of literature and film to spark curiosity about the animals we share this planet with and the importance of wildlife conservation.

“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 paleontologist 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 go on sale starting
Member tickets: April 27, 2022
Public tickets: May 5, 2022

Membership

Members will have the first opportunity to experience the new gallery at the Member Preview on Friday, June 10, and Saturday, June 11, 2022. Members have advanced [sic] access to reserving exhibition tickets beginning April 27, 2022. Timed-tickets [sic] are free for ROM Members, as well as access to galleries and exhibitions included with a membership.

Google Arts & Culture Digital Experience

Delve into the Fantastic Beasts™: The Wonder of Nature collection with Google Arts & Culture, a curated digital exhibition created in partnership with the Natural History Museum, London. www.artsandculture.google.com/project/nhm-fantastic-beasts