Royal Ontario Museum - The Willner Madge Dawn of Life Gallery

On December 4, 2021, Royal Ontario Museum unveiled the Willner Madge Gallery, Dawn of Life—a new 10,000 square-foot state-of-the-art gallery that covers nearly 4 billion years of evolution from the earliest microbes to the emergence of dinosaurs and mammals in the aftermath of the biggest mass extinction event in history.

“This is a landmark moment in the history of the Museum,” said Josh Basseches, ROM Director & CEO. “This is the first major new permanent gallery to open at ROM in a decade and the first of its kind in North America. The Willner Madge Gallery delves into the fundamental mystery of life, where we came from, and how ecosystems as we know them began. Dawn of Life brings together ROM’s vast collection of fossils, decades of fieldwork, research, and groundbreaking scientific discoveries into a dedicated space to tell the epic story of life as it has never been told before. A story that begins in the very rocks of Canada. This remarkable new gallery has been funded entirely through visionary philanthropic support.”

Dawn of Life also chronicles global environmental changes that altered the course of evolution, from the introduction of breathable oxygen into Earth’s atmosphere, to devastating ice ages and global warming events. Four of the five largest world mass extinctions are represented within the time frame of Dawn of Life, including the largest event 252 million years ago at the end of the Permian Period, which destroyed nearly 90% of life in the oceans. The gallery will feature specimens from exceptional Canadian fossil deposits of great scientific significance, four of which are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The Design Foundation collaborated closely with the museum curators and RPDI International Architects, to design all media for the exhibit hall.