It’s a project you could say has been in the works for millions of years. Last month, Rowan University broke ground on a fossil park museum designed to make visitors feel like they’ve been transported back to a time when dinosaurs roamed South Jersey.
The $73 million Jean & Ric Edelman Fossil Park Museum, projected to open in May 2023, will sit above what was once a 4-acre quarry and is now an archeological dig site. The 44,000-square-foot museum will house exhibits including The Hall of Cretaceous Seas and The Hall of Extinction & Hope, plus a Fossil Research Workshop, a virtual reality chamber, a paleo-themed playground and more.
“We are building a museum like no other, on a fossil site of global importance that will connect visitors to the ancient past, to the thrill of discovery and to Rowan University,” says Paleontologist Ken Lacovara, PhD, dean of Rowan’s School of Earth and Environment and director of the park.