TO THE BAT CAVE!
If you grew up in Toronto then the Bat Cave at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) probably has been lodged in your memory as one of the coolest field trips ever. But as we’ve aged, so has the cave and since it’s opening in 1988, the gallery which realistically portrays the renowned St. Clair Cave in Jamaica has been remodelled to a 1,700 square-foot gallery featuring more than 20 bat specimens and over 800 models, some mechanized, to thrill visitors of all ages while teaching them about these magnificent winged creatures, their behaviour and the ecology of the cave in which they live. The new Bat Cave promises a fascinating immersive and educational adventure.
ROM Director and CEO, William Thorsell says, “This new re-imagined Bat Cave is bigger, more realistic and makes use of the latest technologies to inspire new generations of visitors with the wonders of the natural world.”
BATTY FACTS
- Most bats eat insects, fruit and a small number of bats eat meat
- Only three of more than 1,100 known species of bats actually feed on blood
- Bats navigate in the dark through a process known as echolocation where they send out high-pitched sounds and navigate around objects based on the returning echoes.
- The newly renovated Bat Cave officially re-opens to the public on February 27, 2010
Thanks to Lauren from the ROM for inviting us to check out the Bat Cave before it opens on Saturday!
