First Look: Edelman Fossil Park & Museum with full-scale replicas, fossil quarry, and VR experience
South Jersey is home to some of the earliest dinosaur discoveries in history. Recreate that history at the dinosaur fossil quarry.
A visitor pops up into a dome in a diorama in the “Dinosaur Coast Gallery” at the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum of Rowan University during a media preview March 5, 2025, before the museum officially opens March 29. The dome is entered through a child-sized tunnel, part of the interactive environment depicting the authentic lives of East Coast dinosaurs from 66 million years ago.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The Philadelphia region is entering a new era of dinosaur discovery, reaffirming South Jersey as one of the world’s most significant sites for paleontology.
Life-sized depictions of creatures that roamed the area 66 million years ago in the “Dinosaur Coast” prehistoric life dioramas produced by world-renowned paleoartist Gary Staab at the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum of Rowan University during a media preview Mar. 5, 2025.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Architect Thomas Wong and paleontologist Ken Lacovara (right) outside the museum during a media preview. The building was constructed as a net zero carbon facility, as sustainable and environmentally friendly as possible.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The museum was built next to a 41-foot-deep former quarry that preserves an ecosystem from the moment an asteroid marked the end of dinosaurs.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Paleontologist Lacovara (raised arm) leads a tour in the hands-on quarry dig. Mining at the site dates back to the 1880s, when farmers used marl for fertilizer and water filtration.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Visitors will be able to dig for real fossils and keep them. Fearing development on the site, located behind a shopping center, Lacovara partnered with local officials and purchased the quarry in 2010, and opened it to the public, hosting Community Dig Days up until 2019.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
A Dryptosaurus aquilunguis skeleton at the museum's entrance. It was the world's first-ever discovered tyrannosaur, found in 1866, a mile from the museum site at what is now Ceres Park.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The stairs leading to downstairs education exhibits. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Lacovara introduces a short film in the theater, showing the history of life on Earth with dinosaurs representing only 2%, and humans just a tiny fraction of that.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
A life-size Dryptosaurus aquilunguis.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
A baby Hadrosaurus foulkii emerges from its shell in one of the prehistoric life dioramas.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
A visitor pops up into a dome in the middle of a diorama in the “Dinosaur Coast Gallery.” The dome is entered through a child-sized tunnel, part of the interactive environment depicting the authentic lives of East Coast dinosaurs from 66 million years ago.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Lacovara is profiled on an educational panel in the "Discovery Forest." a nature-themed lounge and library area to watch educational videos, discover fossils, and learn about Earth’s history.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Ric Edelman views an interactive exhibit in the “Monstrous Seas Gallery,” a section that explores the depths of the Cretaceous ocean, when the park's property was underwater. Edelman, along with his wife Jean, both Rowan alumni, donated $25 million to the facility.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
An almost complete shell (the carapace) of a three foot wide sea turtle - Euclastes wielandi. The million years-old fossil was unearthed in the quarry on site in 2011.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
A display of just a handful of the thousands of fossils found in the quarry dig - like those visitors might find for themselves in the soft earth of the marl pit - and take home.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Paleontologist Ken Lacovara (left) is interviewed at the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum of Rowan University during a media preview Mar. 5, 2025.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Lacovara (left) leads a tour in the free-roam virtual reality room, a “premium experience” journey that follows an expedition mission collecting scientific samples that comes face-to-face with dinosaurs.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
A cardboard cutout version of Lacovara in the staff work area. The founding executive director of the museum, he has traveled the globe on expeditions discovering many dinosaur fossils.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
A 3-D printed actual size replica of the 6.5-foot femur from the Dreadnoughtus schrani fossil that Lacovara and his team found in Patagonia 2005. It's in the staff work area and will be displayed in the gift shop when the museum opens. At 85 feet long and weighing about 65 tons - almost as long and even heavier than a Boeing 737 - Dreadnoughtus is the largest land animal for which a body mass can be accurately calculated. The original fossils were returned to their permanent home at the Museo Padre Molina in Rio Gallegos, Argentina in 2015.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Lacovara waves his arms to interact with an exhibit in the “Hall of Extinction & Hope,” which explores what scientists call the “Sixth Extinction,” the current human-caused climate and biodiversity crises, and offers action steps to save our planet for future generations.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The look at the fifth mass extinction and humanity’s role in preventing a sixth concludes with an interactive kiosk offering ways to take action.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
A sink with graphic and signage reminds visitors to wash up before touching living “modern-day relatives of your favorite Cretaceous creatures” in the “Critter Cove.” The sign reads: “Before using the touch tank please wash your hands, flippers, claws or wings. The dinosaurs didn’t wash their hands and look what happened to them.”Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The museum’s lake is seen through a large window inside the Darwin & Co. gift shop.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Items for sale in the museum gift shop.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
An alcove off the gift shop pays tribute to Charles Darwin, with cubbies for children. The walls are decorated with photos Lacovara took himself at the "On the Origin of Species" author's home in Downe, England.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Frank Christy is the cafe experience manager at the Quarry Grounds Cafe, named after the museum’s very own line of coffee, including “Decafosarous” and “Tidal Titan Roast.”Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Dinosaur cookies by Amici Mullica Hill Bakery and Cafe, in Mullica Hill.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Outdoor features include a dinosaur-themed playground with a Pterosaur with a 45-foot wingspan, nature trails, and community gardens. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Canada geese take off in flight near the pond at the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum of Rowan University opening Mar. 29. General admission for all exhibits will be $29 for those 13 and over; and $24 for ages 2-12, with add-on experiences - like the Fossil Quarry Dig and VR Room -costing $25 each.
Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
A glimpse into the past
Some 66 million years ago, before the fifth mass extinction wiped out three-quarters of Earth’s species, South Jersey was submerged under a shallow sea teeming with marine and terrestrial life. When the city-sized asteroid Chicxulub struck off the coast of what is now Mexico, it set off a chain reaction that led to the extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs. Their remains settled beneath the ocean floor, preserved for millennia.
Today, that prehistoric seabed forms the foundation of South Jersey. In some areas, fossils lie just 65 feet below the surface, waiting to be uncovered.
Bringing the museum to life
The nearly 45,000-square-foot facility, designed by Ennead Architects and KSS Architects, is nestled behind quintessential New Jersey strip malls. A winding road leads visitors to the museum, which prioritizes sustainability through the use of materials like Accoya-modified pine wood and reduced-cement concrete. More than 70 geothermal wells beneath the parking lot provide most of the museum’s heating and cooling.
The museum was brought to life through the efforts of Ken Lacovara, an award-winning paleontologist credited with discovering one of the world’s largest terrestrial dinosaurs, the Dreadnoughtus. His partnerships with Rowan University, where he teaches, and a $25 million donation from Ric and Jean Edelman made the project possible.
What to expect
The Edelman Fossil Park & Museum is an interactive learning center curated by Lacovara and experiential designers at G&A to transport visitors back in time to when dinosaurs ruled the Earth. Exhibits explore how these creatures coexisted with other wildlife, why they disappeared, and what lessons their extinction holds for today’s climate challenges.
Beyond fossils, the museum offers immersive experiences, including free-roaming virtual reality adventures and a fossil quarry where visitors can dig for their own discoveries. Plans are in the works to introduce “Night at the Museum” sleepovers.
Exhibits
On the museum’s first floor, three exhibits immerse visitors in jungle, coastal, and forest-like terrains with life-size recreations of dinosaurs that inhabited this region millions of years ago. World-renowned paleoartist Gary Staab created all the replicas seen in the museum.
Dinosaur Coast: Walk through what the East Coast would’ve looked like 66 million years ago, including depictions of local dinosaurs experiencing the highs and lows of everyday life.
Monstrous Seas: An “underwater” exhibit, complete with ocean floor lighting and sounds, houses the museum’s largest dinosaur recreation of the 55-foot Mosasaur and other aquatic dinosaurs from the region.
Hall of Extinction & Hope: A sobering yet inspiring look at the fifth mass extinction and humanity’s role in preventing a sixth. The exhibit concludes with an interactive kiosk offering ways to take action.
Discovery Forest: A nature-themed lounge and library area to watch educational videos, discover fossils, and learn about Earth’s history.
Collections & Conservation: A research space where Rowan University paleontologists and students study and store fossils.
Critter Cove: Live touch-tank exhibits featuring distant relatives of Cretaceous-era creatures.
Immersive add-on experiences
Expedition Voyager: (15 minutes) A virtual reality experience where guests join an expedition crew, encountering dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures while collecting scientific samples.
Fossil Quarry Dig: (90 minutes) The main attraction, where guests can dig into the soft earth of the marl quarry to find fossils from the Cretaceous period and take home discoveries.
Cafe & Gift shop
Quarry Grounds Cafe: Named after the museum’s own line of coffee, Quarry Grounds, this corner cafe sells coffee and espresso drinks, pastries, and small bites sourced from local New Jersey vendors.
Darwin & Co. Store: A nod to English scientist Charles Darwin, the museum’s gift shop sells an assortment of books, puzzles, games, plush toys, jewelry, science kits, clothing, and more. An online version of the store will be available soon at darwinandco.org.
I cover the places and things around Philadelphia that you may not have seen yet, and show you why they're important. I help explain some of the more mundane or hard-to-uncover aspects of being a Philadelphian. Cannabis, invasive insects, and Japanese cheesesteaks also seem to be trends in my writing.
