A Moment in Time
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Sixty-six million years ago, dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Now the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum of Rowan University is bringing them back to life—figuratively, of course. After nearly 20 years of development, on March 29, the $75 million, 44,000-square-foot facility opened its doors to the public. The response has been overwhelming, selling out the first two weekends in operation.
Tucked behind a Lowe’s in Mantua, the fossil park’s location may seem obscure, but it is every bit intentional.
South Jersey has a long history with dinosaurs. While the T. rex may be the most popular tyrannosaur, it is by no means the only; it isn’t even the first tyrannosaur discovered. That distinction belongs to the Dryptosaurus, discovered in 1866 just miles away from the Fossil Park, in the West Jersey Marl Company Pit in Barnsboro.
Further, Haddonfield is named after the discovery of Hadrosaurus foulkii by John Estaugh Hopkins and officially excavated by William Parker Foulke in 1858. This landmark discovery in paleontology represented the first complete virtually intact dinosaur skeleton found anywhere in the world.
The secret to South Jersey’s fossil luck lies in its geography. Despite the vast number of fossils found each year, it’s rare for fossilization to occur and rarer that a fossil is ever discovered. In order for a fossil to form, an animal must die then quickly be covered in sediment, allowing the body to decompose—in most cases only leaving its bones—and then harden into rock to be discovered naturally through erosion. The area’s abundance of marl pits provides the perfect habitat for fossilizations.
Furthering South Jersey’s paleontological history, it was also home to a feud that rivals that of the Hatfields and McCoys, nicknamed “The Bone Wars.” Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh were once friends before the allure and prestige of fossil hunting mudded their relationship. The two were often found sabotaging each other’s dig sites, claiming ownership of each other's finds and slandering each other in local newspapers. It was Cope who discovered Dryptosaurus, initially giving it the name Laelaps aquilunguis. Once it was revealed Laelaps was already used to identify the genus of mites, Marsh swooped in to rename the dinosaur.
“We can’t exist anywhere else in the world, not only because of the quarry but because South Jersey is this hotbed of dinosaur discovery,” says Nick Sena, the museum’s director of community development and partnerships. “Most of the residents in this region don't know, so we wanted to make sure that we preserve this quarry and what we're finding in it for generations to come, and also to be this beacon of awareness and education of South Jersey’s significance to the paleontological scene. [The museum’s founding executive director] Dr. [Kenneth] Lacovara travels the world to give talks and fills venues with folks that know South Jersey and how significant it is to dinosaur discovery; but how many folks in our own backyard have no clue of what's beneath their feet?”
Paying homage to this, the museum’s displays are centered around the area’s inhabitants from the famous Dryptosaurus and Haddrosaurs to Mosasaurus and Astrodon. Broken into three traditional museum halls—Dinosuar Coast, Monstrous Seas and the Hall of Extinction & Hope—the first floor tells a story of a Dryptosaurus living on the coast of New Jersey. From its fight with a mother Hadrosaurus to being wounded on the beach and carried out to sea by the tide, each display in Dinosaur Coast and Monstrous Seas offers a plethora of information about the flora and fauna of the prehistoric region.
Importantly, the exhibit combines past and present, showcasing the similarities in modern animals with their ancient ancestors. These comparisons provide greater context for the importance of paleontology and set the stage for the final section, which culminates the knowledge acquired from the past and present into solutions for the future in hopes of avoiding our own extinction.
Upon entering the museum, visitors are provided an explorer card. This card unlocks personal experiences throughout the museum—allowing visitors to score points while encouraging guests of all ages to take their time at each of the exhibits.
Several “fossil boxes” are hidden throughout the first two rooms; walk up, tap your card and head over to either room’s leaderboard to identify the fossils you find.
In addition to the fossil scavenger hunt, guests can tap explorer cards at interactive screens, allowing them to “dig” up fossil bones and learn more about the dinosaurs on display, or witness how important evolutionary practices like adaptation occur in real-world situations.
It has yet to be announced what these points will unlock for guests, but in the meantime it serves as an engaging way to interact with exhibits.
Explorer passes can also be used in the final room of the upstairs exhibit at kiosks explaining how visitors can protect themselves from a climate-change-caused sixth extinction. Here guests find reading recommendations, environmental events, charitable organizations and individual ways to help the planet. By synching an explorer pass to this activity, guests can send any resource to their profile and access it through their phone for future reference.
Downstairs provides more interactive ways to engage with the museum. In the Discovery Forest, kids can get hands on, exploring scientific principles and watching short videos on topics like the Bone Wars. Across the hall, guests can watch fossils being worked on inside the collections and conservation room. Next door in Critter Cove, guests can check out animals like cockroaches and clownfish. While this section is still in development, soon guests will be able to observe the behavior of mice, see a monitor lizard and get up close to marine life at the touch tank. The bottom floor is also home to Expedition Voyager, a free-roaming virtual reality add-on experience where you’re part of a team traveling back in time to collect scientific samples.
Starting May 1 through October, guests will have the opportunity to live out their paleontology dreams at the park’s quarry experience. This add-on activity will allow visitors to dig for their own fossils.
“[The quarry experience] is what makes us so [different] from other museums around the world,” says Sena. “We overlook this significant worldwide site which is a four-acre quarry—the only place in the world that has fossilized evidence of an entire collapsed ecosystem from the days and months following the asteroid strike 66 million years ago. Every step taken down the path is another 400,000 years back in time … and if you try hard enough and get a little dirty you’ll likely find a 65 million-year-old fossil of your own. Whatever you find, we identify, clean off for you, package it and you get to take that home with you.”
Rounded out with a gift shop, cafe, a 45-foot Pteranodon-centered playground and a 1.6-mile nature trail, the property has a lot more to offer than just the museum itself.
“We want to leave folks knowing that there is hope, that there are little changes we all can do in our everyday life to show that we love our planet, and that those changes in a collective way, can make a real difference,” says Sena. “For our younger audience, we want them to leave with this sense of awe and wonder. Our mission is to create origin stories for the next generation of positive world changers.”
Beyond its own success, the fossil park and museum signifies exponential growth within Rowan University and the community. As Rowan’s geographical and reputational footprint continues to grow, so does its commitment to its neighbors.
“If you live in this region, I'd be hard pressed to think you don't see what Rowan University is doing and what it means to this region. Under President [Ali] Houshmand, Rowan is committed to growth; we are one of the fastest-growing institutions in the country. … That comes with a significant amount of economic impact to the region,” says Sena. “We did an economic impact study in the early days of this project that estimated we would provide $300 million in economic impact over the next 10 years. Rowan is committed not only to educating students and giving them a world-class education, but also elevating the entire community around us, and listening to what they are asking for.”
Tickets, memberships and educational resources can be found on the museum’s website: EFM.org.
Photo Courtesy of Edelman Fossil Park & Museum
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Author: Chelsea Valcourt
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