On June 16 at the ROM, the Spiders: Fear & Fascination (#romspiders) exhibit will open, running till January 6, 2o19. The title pretty much sums it up- people are either generally in awe of these mysterious creatures while others find them super creepy crawly with a desire to go anywhere away from them.
The ROM is here to bust all your spider stigmas and educate you a little more on our eight-legged friends.
You might think of horrific fictionalizations as shown in arachnophobia or 8 legged freaks, but in reality, the average spider bite is less intense than a bee sting and they usually only use it in acts of self-defense.
we start at the history and evolution of ancient and fossilized spiders which you can see first hand. Museum goers can learn how spiders are the original hitchhikers, hopping a ride on ships and planes to spread their silk.
Along with internationally jet setting spiders, see the top ones who reside in Toronto, and newly discovered species.
In the nocturnal spider area, the lights dim and the area caves in, encapsulating the eerie reality of spiders of the night.
You’ll learn everything you can imagine, from how they grow, to diet, courtship and silk production.
The male peacock spider jumps around in a courting dance to woo a lucky lady, and visitors can participate in their own peacock spider dance off in an attempt to be swoon-worthy of a female peacock spider.
And one of the most Intriguing parts would have to be the silk production aspect. Spiders such a
s the gold silk orb weaver produce stunning webs which are then used to make cloth and violin strings. The ROM has the privilege of displaying an intricately ornate spider silk cape. This work of art took three years to complete, and a whopping 1.2 million spiders, each collected individually from the wild and then milked.
You can see more of this process in their mock venom milking lab which chronicles the steps more accurately.
Everyone who is an aficionado of design, natural history, silk or insects will find something to pique their interest in this vast, family-friendly exploration of spiders.
