The Edelman Fossil Park & Museum, part of Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, will open on 29 March 2025. Located in Mantua Township, the setting is known for its rich paleontological significance, and the museum is situated above an active research quarry where over 100,000 fossils from more than 100 species—including mosasaurs, marine crocodiles, sea turtles, and sharks—have been unearthed.
Described as a world-class museum for dinosaur lovers, the institution will feature fossil excavation, virtual reality journeys, captivating exhibits, and an interactive fossil hunt enhanced by RFID technology.
The museum is built around sustainability, incorporating geothermal and electric systems that significantly reduce its carbon footprint. The design team comprises Ennead Architects, KSS Architects and G&A, as well as landscape designers Seed Design and Yaki Miodovnik.
Kenneth Lacovara, founding executive director of the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum, speaks to blooloop about what visitors can expect from this new attraction.
Saving an important site
Dr. Lacovara has unearthed some of the largest dinosaurs, including the 65-ton Dreadnoughtus featured in Jurassic World: Dominion.
He received the prestigious Explorers Club Medal, his TED talk attracted over five million viewers, and his book, Why Dinosaurs Matter, earned the Nautilus Book Prize. Lacovara has made Discover magazine’s 100 Top Science Stories three times and appeared in over 20 documentaries.
He is also the founding former dean of Rowan University’s School of Earth & Environment.
Speaking about the museum’s inception, he explains the significance of the former marl quarry where it is located and the fight to preserve it. The Fossil Park was built adjacent to a four-acre fossil quarry, a former mine for marl, or greensand, used in fertilisers and water filtration.
“Mining at the site dates back to the 1880s, and the company we purchased the land from had operated there since 1926. I began excavating at the site in 2003, initially leading students in salvage palaeontology—collecting fossils as bulldozers moved through the area.
“Meanwhile, my research took me worldwide, from the Sahara to Patagonia, the Gobi, and the American West. However, in 2007, the mining company informed me that their business was no longer viable, and they were considering filling in the quarry for commercial development. That’s when I realised we needed to find a way to save this site.”
In 2010, Lacovara partnered with the local government and made a critical decision to showcase the site. “Paleontologists usually keep sites secret to protect them, but if we wanted to preserve this quarry, we had to open it to the public. In 2011, we hosted our first Community Dig Day, expecting 75 attendees.”
Instead, 1,600 people showed up.
An appetite for fossils
These Dig Day events became incredibly popular, proving that the public had a deep thirst for hands-on scientific experiences. By 2019, the last Dig Day before COVID-19, 2,000 spots had been filled in 14 minutes, and 9,000 people were on the waiting list.
“As we gained control of the site and moved beyond salvage palaeontology, we set up a proper excavation grid. What we discovered was astonishing: the fossil layer we had studied for decades was actually a mass deathbed, a catastrophic event that wiped out an entire ecosystem.”
Further analysis revealed something extraordinary—the team had found direct evidence of the fallout from the impact of the asteroid that ended the age of the dinosaurs. Scientists had searched for this layer worldwide since 1980. “I had searched for it on four continents, only to find it right here in a quarry behind a Lowe’s in New Jersey,” says Lacovara.
This discovery of the quarry’s scientific significance made preservation non-negotiable.
“That led to my discussions with Rowan University. Their president, Ali Houshmand, immediately saw the potential, and together, we made a deal: I would join Rowan to establish the School of Earth & Environment.”
Meanwhile, two alumni, Jean and Ric Edelman, donated an extraordinary $25 million to bring the $75-million museum and research centre to life.
“From there, we embarked on an extensive design and construction process—despite the challenges of building during COVID. Now, we stand just weeks away from opening the doors to a world-class museum and fossil park, where visitors can engage with science in an authentic, hands-on way.”
The goal of the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum
The museum’s mission is to inspire a deeper connection to the past and an understanding of the planet’s future. This mission informs everything from the design to the programming:
“Our story unfolds like a three-act play. First, we immerse visitors in the ‘good old days’ of the dinosaurs, a thriving prehistoric world. Then comes the catastrophe—Act Two—the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs and 75% of life on Earth.
“This moment is designed to give visitors a sense of humility and help them grasp their smallness in space and time—what Carl Sagan called the ‘Great Demotion.’”
That understanding prepares them for the final act: the Anthropocene, the age we live in now:
“Here, we confront the unfolding climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis—stark, dramatic, and often underappreciated by the public. This is the nadir of the experience.”
Inspiring action
However, it’s also a redemption story:
“We don’t stop at despair—we take visitors into a gallery of hope, where we showcase eight incredible individuals worldwide who are making a difference. Their stories, captured on film, are paired with personal mementoes displayed in the museum, and each urges visitors to take action.”
Action is built into the experience. Every visitor receives an Explorer Key, an RFID-enabled tool that tracks their journey. As they engage with exhibits, they earn points, unlocking deeper experiences. At the end of this gallery, visitors can access the ‘Act Now’ kiosk, where they can bookmark organisations, resources, and action items—personalised and waiting for them on their own museum webpage.
“But engagement doesn’t stop at the exit. If visitors plant a pollinator garden, leave the leaves in their yard, buy an EV, or take other positive steps, they can submit proof and earn more points.
“It’s all about agency. The crisis is urgent, but we refuse to present a message of doom and paralysis. Instead, we empower people with knowledge, action, and a way to stay connected to the museum—whether here or at home—so they can be part of the solution.”
Walking the walk
The Edelman Fossil Park & Museum doesn’t just talk about sustainability; it embodies it – walking the walk as well as talking the talk.
“Sustainability is at the core of the museum’s construction and operations,” says Lacovara. “We used reduced-carbon concrete by incorporating industrial slag into the mix—an important step, considering that if concrete were a country, it would rank among the top global CO₂ emitters.”
The building itself contains significant embodied carbon, and mass timber is prominently featured in public areas, effectively sequestering carbon from the atmosphere.
The team also took steps to protect wildlife:
“About a billion birds die yearly in the US alone due to collisions with buildings. To mitigate this, we installed bird-safe glass called Ornilux, designed based on evolutionary principles. Most vertebrates originally had four colour receptors—red, blue, green, and ultraviolet—but mammals lost the ability to see ultraviolet light during their evolutionary past. Birds, however, retained this ability.
“To them, our glass appears as spider webs—patterns they instinctively avoid—while to humans, it remains clear.”
The museum’s commitment to sustainability extends to the landscape, too. It has planted only native species and established a volunteer program to remove invasive plants, helping to restore the local ecosystem. It has also invested in a water management system that prevents runoff and allows water to infiltrate the ground naturally.
Regarding energy efficiency, the team installed 70 geothermal wells, each 250 feet deep, which provide most of the building’s heating and cooling.
“All electrical systems run on renewable energy through a power purchase agreement, and in the future, we plan to generate that power on-site. Altogether, these initiatives make the museum a carbon net-zero facility—one that not only tells the story of environmental change but actively contributes to a sustainable future.”
The visitor experience at the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum
From the moment visitors walk through the doors, they enter an immersive, scientifically rich experience.
“The first sight is a stunning display of massive dinosaur skeletons in the upper lobby—a classic introduction to a natural history museum—but once inside the galleries, they are fully transported. Our exhibits are designed to recreate time and place with incredible accuracy.”
In Dinosaur Coast, visitors encounter the dinosaurs of the East Coast as they lived at the end of the Cretaceous, surrounded by period-accurate terrain, footprints, vegetation, and even soundscapes. Monstrous Seas showcases the ancient ocean life that once existed right beneath their feet, including a 55-foot-long Mosasaur, a creature that once swam in the exact spot where they stand.
The Hall of Extinction and Hope then takes visitors through Earth’s mass extinctions, from the asteroid-driven demise of the dinosaurs to today’s biodiversity crisis. A powerful interactive, What’s Really Overheating the Planet?, allows guests to test different climate variables and see for themselves that greenhouse gases are the primary driver of modern climate change.
Beyond the galleries, the museum offers a diverse range of engaging spaces. Critter Cove introduces live animals while connecting them to their evolutionary history. Discovery Forest is a hands-on, tactile learning environment. A glass-walled lab allows visitors to observe palaeontologists working on real fossils.
“We also have a state-of-the-art, free-roaming VR experience that sends groups of four on a time-travel adventure to collect scientific data from dinosaurs before making a dramatic escape.”
Getting hands-on
Outside, visitors can explore a bespoke palaeontology-themed playground featuring a massive 45-foot-wide Pteranodon climbing structure and a buried Allosaurus skeleton that kids can excavate anew each day. Then there is the Fossil Quarry Experience:
“We invite guests to dig for their own 66-million-year-old fossils—every visitor who gets their hands dirty finds one and takes it home. That moment of personal discovery is often transformational, sparking a curiosity that can last a lifetime.”
Ultimately, the goal is to foster scientific thinking in an engaging and deeply personal way. “Fossils, as we like to say, are the gateway drug to science. By inspiring visitors—young and old—to think like explorers, to ask questions, and to seek answers through observation and reasoning, we hope to instil a mindset that extends far beyond palaeontology.
“Whether they pursue careers in science, technology, medicine, or any other field, the ability to think critically and rationally is one of the greatest tools we can give them.”
The impact of the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum
As the museum prepares to open, Lacovara hopes it will have a profound impact both locally and globally.
“Locally, I know the museum will become a source of immense pride for the community. The people who live here will come to see just how special this place is in terms of Earth’s history.”
Beyond inspiration, the museum will also have a significant economic impact:
“Our studies show that it will generate tens of millions of dollars for the local economy, create jobs, and bring in millions in tax revenue. It will also be a tremendous asset to Rowan University. The museum will put Rowan on the map for many people who might not have known about the university. Once they visit, they’ll have the opportunity to see all the exciting things happening here.
“But on an even larger scale, I genuinely hope we serve as a catalyst for education and inspiration. Our guiding principle is simple: You only love what you know, and you protect what you love. If we can get people to fall in love with the Earth—its deep history, incredible biodiversity, and fragile future—then they’re far more likely to protect it.”
Finally, he emphasises that the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum is for everyone:
“Kids will have an incredible time, but this isn’t just a children’s museum. We’ve designed the content to engage adults just as much—through in-depth exhibits, immersive storytelling, and thought-provoking films. Whether you’re here for a family outing, a date night, or even a corporate mixer, there’s something for you. We’ve intentionally built layers into the experience.
“No matter who you are, you’ll walk away having learned something, having been inspired, and having had a truly memorable experience.”
Images courtesy of Edelman Fossil Park & Museum of Rowan University
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