Earth: An Immersive Journey at the Royal Ontario Museum

I was lucky with my timing. On the day I visited the Royal Ontario Museum, Earth: An Immersive Journey was on in the Philosopher’s Gallery on Level 1, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of my day. It ran from June 2024 to January 2025, so it has since closed in Toronto. It is a touring show, though, and if it ever comes to a nearby city, it is worth the trip.

Earth: An Immersive Journey at a Glance
📍 Where · Philosopher’s Gallery, Level 1, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
🎬 What it was · A walk-through sensory exhibition of projected ecosystems with spatial sound and scent, by Sensory Odyssey Studio with the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris
🗓️ When · Ran June 2024 to January 2025 — now closed in Toronto, but still touring
🌍 Where it’s travelled · Paris, Singapore, Toronto and San Francisco (Vivid: Immerse Your Senses, 2026)
⏱️ Plan for · At least 10 minutes per room — the ROM suggested an hour or more for the full show

What It Was

Earth was a walk through several of the planet’s ecosystems, one room at a time. Each room was dark, and the walls became giant, high-definition screens. Spatial audio surrounded us with the sounds of each place, and scents drifted through the air to match. Some rooms had benches, so I could sit and let each scene play out around me.

The content was created by Sensory Odyssey Studio, a French company, in co-production with the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris. I went through every room, though I only took photos in a few. With images this big, it was hard to know where to point the camera.

The Arctic

In the Arctic room, icebergs filled a curved screen that wrapped around the room, floating on water so still it reflected them perfectly. Another scene showed a sea of broken ice leading to a glacier front.

This was one of the two rooms where I noticed a scent. I honestly thought I was imagining it, a placebo effect. I wasn’t. The ROM’s page for the exhibition noted that artificial scents were used throughout the gallery.

Underground

One room took us below the surface. A huge cross-section of soil filled the wall, with grass and roots at the top, stones and burrows further down, and the hidden life of the ground going on beneath our feet.

Even up close, the projection held its detail: fine white root hairs, grains of soil, and a small hollow with what looked like a stone or egg tucked inside.

The Forest

The woods were the other room where I noticed a scent. Standing in front of the forest, with tall trunks and layers of green leaves all around, I caught the scent again, and again I wondered if it was just my imagination.

The Small World

Another room blew up the tiniest creatures to the size of a wall, and it is the one that changed how I see insects.

A bright green praying mantis held its prey in its spiked front legs and ate, with its big round eyes looking straight out at us. On a screen that size, I could see every tiny spine along its forelegs.

Nearby, a small green spider hung from a stem by a single thread. The silk caught the light like a string of beads, and every fine hair on its legs was visible.

A caterpillar rested on a leaf, covered in long, sharp bristles, with rows of red spots along its back. At normal size, it would be easy to miss. Here, every bristle stood out against the dark background.

Then came the beetles. One was metallic green, close enough to count the tiny dimples on its shell and the lenses of its compound eye.

Another was bright yellow, covered in black spots, filmed so close that its eye looked like a tiny honeycomb.

That beetle is the one I keep thinking about. Before this room, I would have stepped back from most of these creatures. Seen this close, there was nothing frightening about them. They were simply small creatures trying to survive: hunting, hiding, eating and getting on with their lives in a world much bigger than they are. I have not looked at insects the same way since.

Delicate and Strong

Seeing nature this close changes how it looks. In the Arctic room, the icebergs were enormous. In the room of tiny creatures, a beetle filled an entire wall, and every hair and dimple on it was visible.

Both rooms made the same point in opposite ways. We are small in this world, and so much of it is fragile: ice that melts, roots that hold the soil together, a spider hanging by one thread. And yet all of it is strong enough to have lasted, adapted and survived. Nature is delicate and strong at the same time, and it is a treasure worth protecting.

Bubbly Tips

• Watch for the tour. Sensory Odyssey has travelled from Paris to Singapore, Toronto and San Francisco. If it comes to a city near you, it is worth planning around.
• Give each room time. The ROM suggested at least 10 minutes per ecosystem. Rushing through misses the point.
• Sit down when you can. Some rooms have benches, and the experience works best when you stay still and let the scene move around you.
• Let your eyes adjust. The rooms are kept dark so the screens stand out, so pause at each doorway.
• Know about the scents. The exhibition uses artificial scents throughout, which is worth knowing if you are sensitive to fragrance.
• Shoot wide to show scale. Include the edge of the screen or the seating in the frame, or a photo of a projection just looks like a photo of nature.
• Pair it with the galleries. At the ROM, the dinosaur and ancient-world galleries are in the same building, and the Queen’s Park entrance is a grand way in, so plan a full day.

Final Thoughts

Earth: An Immersive Journey left me in awe. In a museum full of dinosaurs and ancient treasures, it was nature itself, alive and moving, that stopped me in my tracks.

It is easy to walk past nature every day without looking. This exhibition made me stop, look, listen and even smell. If it tours somewhere near home, it deserves the time it asks for.

Until next time!

xoxo,
Bubbly 🎈