Rowan University has been known by students to provide a variety of awe-inspiring experiences from the Edelman Planetarium to the opening of Discovery Hall.

One such important event that the university will be bringing in the next year will be the opening of the Edelman Fossil Park and Museum of Rowan University in March 2025. 

The Fossil Park is an immersive experience of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures located in Mantua Township, N.J.  

Nicholas Sena is the director of community development and partnerships at Edelman Fossil Park and Museum. 

“A location like this exists no place else in the world, nowhere else in the world has this level of fossil evidence of a collapsed ecosystem from the time that the dinosaurs went extinct,” said Sena. 

The Edelman Fossil Park will have galleries, VR experiences, a cafe, exhibits, nature trails, and a paleontology-themed playground. The EFM aims to provide visitors with an experience that brings back memories of wanting to know more about dinosaurs as a child. 

“You can anticipate feeling a sense of awe and wonder that we usually are typically associated with our childhood selves and our fascination with dinosaurs, but it doesn’t matter how old you are,” said Sena. “You can expect to walk through these doors and just feel that same sense of awe and wonder.  It’s an experience, to my knowledge, that doesn’t exist like any other museum.  It’s a blend of art, technology, science, entertainment, and education that I think is going to give folks a new way of looking at the world around them when they leave”. 

The Edelman Fossil Park will serve as an attraction for both current and prospective Rowan students who want to protect the future. 

“We provide experiential learning opportunities,” said Sena. “Students, especially in the School of Earth and Environment, are going to be able to come in and work on the grounds. But we’re also a business here, and for every specialized degree that Rowan offers we hope to engage students as interns, as student workers, as volunteers. So we’ll provide those experiential learning opportunities”. 

The attraction will be focused on making an impact on the people who choose to visit, the planet as a whole, and making a profit to keep the experiences going. 

“We’re going to be paying attention to our people enjoying the experience,” said Sena. “Does our museum inspire folks to take positive action on the world around us? Do we generate the resources required to continue to invest in our mission and make this museum better and better year after year?”

The team at the Edelman Fossil Park is looking forward to opening the doors for people to feel inspired and create a feeling of motivation in all those who attend.

“We are very intentionally looking forward to opening with a clear sense of purpose,” said Sena. “It might not be what people expect when they walk through the doors, which is even better because I think they’re going to be wowed and inspired in different ways. And we want to use that positive energy to motivate others”. 

The team revealed that they are working out details for the opening in March and encourage people to join the mailing list.

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