Sketching the Past: A Hands-On Dinosaur Experience

About the Program

Join the Varley Art Gallery and the Royal Ontario Museum for an engaging, hands-on experience inspired by the Varley’s 2026 Winter Exhibition, . Discover how Frederick Varley closely observed dinosaurs, fossils, and museum specimens through drawing. Meet a ROM Ambassador and explore real, touchable fossil specimens up close, then try your hand at sketching, just as Varley did, translating observation into line and form.

Perfect for curious kids and families interested in art, science, and discovery!

About “Sketching the Past”

In the 1950s, Frederick Varley wandered the halls of Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) with pencil in hand. Sketching the Past invites visitors to share his careful observations and consider why we visit museums. Varley sketched in the Natural History and Art and Culture galleries, drawn especially to the Chinese collection and to visitors in the dinosaur halls. His studies capture fossils, sculptures, and cultural artefacts with the same precision as his portraits, revealing both artistic skill and curiosity. Through these drawings, we glimpse how the ROM displayed its collections in the 1950s and are invited to reflect on how museum collection practices, display methods, and storytelling have evolved, shaping the ways we remember and imagine our shared cultural heritage.

Curated by Anik Glaude.

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Host or Publisher Varley Art Gallery of Markham