Natural History at ROM Revealed

Natural History at ROM Revealed hands you the labels attached to Royal Ontario Museum specimens and asks for careful transcription. Names, dates, locations, and historical notes move from handwriting into structured records that researchers can search, compare, and map.

What is Natural History at ROM Revealed?

A museum specimen is more than the plant, insect, shell, or bone in the drawer. Its label records where and when it was collected, who handled it, and sometimes the environmental context surrounding that moment. This Notes from Nature project opens pieces of ROM's collection to volunteers through themed expeditions, including historical-note and geography tasks tied to plant specimens. The pleasure is part puzzle, part clerical archaeology: you learn the rhythm of an old hand, spot a place name in faded ink, and turn an isolated object into a usable observation about biodiversity across time.

What you can do there

• Transcribe text from specimen labels
• Record historical notes and geographic information
• Discuss uncertain readings with the project community

Why we picked it

The work is quiet but consequential. Each accurately copied label unlocks context that a photograph of the specimen cannot provide on its own, while repeated volunteer transcriptions and museum review give the process a sensible quality-control layer. It is a good rabbit hole for anyone who finds satisfaction in patient deciphering and tidy data.

How to get the most from it

Take the tutorial before tackling a label, then copy what is actually written rather than correcting or expanding it from memory. Work field by field, zoom in when the text is faint, and mark uncertain characters instead of guessing. Stick with one expedition for a while; recurring handwriting and terminology become easier to recognize with repetition.

Good to know

The active expeditions and completion figures change as specimen batches move through review. The working interface requires JavaScript and was not executed during this check, so account behavior, mobile controls, image legibility, and accessibility remain unverified. Site Stumble cannot embed the page because its framing policy is restricted to Zooniverse itself.

Who made it, and when?

Royal Ontario Museum and Notes from Nature is the credited creator or organization. The earliest supported launch date we found is February 17, 2026.