Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., has broken ground on a $73 million fossil park museum.
The 44,000-square-foot, 65-acre Jean & Ric Edelman Fossil Park Museum in Mantua Township will offer students and residents a chance to go back in time to discover fossils of prehistoric creatures that were once in the area, the university says in a news release.
The museum is being designed as a net-zero building with a geothermal, water-source heating and cooling system and a photovoltaic solar field.
The museum will showcase dinosaurs, reptiles, sea turtles, crocodiles and other creatures that once inhabited New Jersey's coastline.
In the lobby, guests will be welcomed by a skeletal figure of native creatures that were also a part of the state's habitat.
Deeper inside the museum there will be a sea gallery that will showcase a Late Cretaceous and other sea creatures.
The Hall of Cretaceous Seas will feature a collection of marine recreations, including dozens by paleo sculptor Gary Staab.
The Hall of Extinction & Hope will enable visitors to experience the demise of the dinosaurs, to immerse themselves in knowledge about the ongoing climate and biodiversity crises, and to explore a network of resources to take action about them.
“Discovery Forest” will feature hands-on learning stations and “Critter Cove” will contain sea and land animals with genetic connections to the site during the Late Cretaceous era. There will also be a Fossil Research Workshop, a virtual reality chamber, Café, museum store, paleo-themed playground and nature trails.
KSS Architects has designed the facility.
