Edelman Fossil Park & Museum of Rowan University — Attraction in Mantua Township

Overall, it was fine but I don't think we would go out of our way to visit a second time.

We booked the quarry experience for 10a and they closed it due to smoke from wild fires, totally fair, but their communication about the issue was inadequate. They had two paper signs taped to the front door of the museum but no staff or signage down by the entrance to the quarry which is where you're directed to go. My family as well as others were standing around with no idea what was happening. When I spoke to the manager inside the museum, green glasses, he was very confrontational about the entire thing. For future instances of last minute closures perhaps visitor services should consider doing automated texts or emails. We were offered a refund. We chose to wait and see if the weather cleared in time for the 11:30a quarry dig which it did. The poor communication, lack of signage, and the attitude from the manager kicked our museum visit off poorly. I will say the rest of the staff was very friendly.

The museum itself: It's beautiful and new and the displays were well done but I would say it's more suited to older children. There's a lot of reading involved even with the interactive bits so you need a strong reader or a very attentive little who can listen. We went through the entire thing in about an hour. The interactive elements are nice but again better geared for older kids. The lower part of the building did not have much to offer. There were some collections staff members doing some things with fossils. The small display area with live animals was mostly empty, the animals are "coming soon" apparently.

The quarry experience was expensive for what it was. The video shared at the top of the experience doesn't really prepare you for the actual dig. We were walked down to the entrance, rules were read off a sign, supplied with a plastic beach pail and shovel and sent off.

This experience is missing: More instruction on how to search for fossils and the types of fossils we might find before heading to the quarry. There were 2 guides available to answer questions but I had to press the young man to show us and instruct the kids. Once he did that it was better. After hearing that it was better to brush the sand away rather than actually dig I was wondering why they gave everybody the beach shovels, why not little brushes?

More thought needs to go into how this experience is structured. I would start in where the tables are and show samples of the types of fossils guests might find, pass them around so folks can feel them and hand out tools. I would share all of the info the guides tried to share while walking backwards down the hill to the quarry. I would manage expectations around the fact that you will mostly find rocks. We did our best to manage this with our own kids but they still struggled. I would do this in place of the video.

We had a rainy overcast day which was ideal.

Overall, my kids enjoyed the digging, we did find one coprolite (prehistoric poop) and some clam fossils but mostly rocks. They honestly would have been just as happy digging at the beach and there would have been less disappointment and cost.

The playground. This was my kids favorite part. I would say that it is more geared toward older kids. Mine are 7 and 4.5. The 7 yr old did fine on most of the equipment but the 4.5 yr old struggled a little bit so watching littles would be very important which is true at any mix-age playground.

One other suggestion: Maybe this coming down the line but it would be nice to include some notes about the plants chosen for the landscaping. Magnolias and ferns were both included but I didn't see any signage sharing that they are pre-historic! Were there other pre-historic plants out there? Would love to know.

There is currently no...

If you live close by and you're looking for a way to spend two or three hours entertaining a dinosaur enthusiast, this isn't a bad option. But I so wish it was better.

We came on the 2nd full weekend of operation, and while my preschooler had fun, I do think the museum has some work it could to to improve the experience and make it worth repeat visits.

As it is now, there are only two rooms with dinosaur statues, and it doesn't take very long to go through them. There is a smaller exhibit space ("Hall of Extinction and Hope") with some fossils, photos, and graphics that caps off the first floor area exhibits area. The dino statues are VERY cool. I just wish there had been more of them.

Downstairs is the Discovery Forest, which felt underdeveloped. There are some drawers that the kids can pull out to see some rocks and small fossils. There's also a video playing with some comfy seating. However, the audio for the video was barely audible, and for the segment we tried to watch, there were zero closed captions. I think they could be doing SO much more with a space like this.

Another downstairs area is Critter Cover, which had like...two critters. The touch tank had nothing in it yet and the rats that are apparently coming weren't installed yet either. Kind of a bummer given the museum opened the week prior and this was still so unfinished.

On the map, the Collections and Conservations area looks like a room you can go into. But in reality, it was a person working on a fossil behind a large window. It was cool to see him working, but it isn't actually a space you can go into and check out.

I think it's a shame that so much downstairs real estate is dedicated to an up-sell virtual reality room, given the facility's overall smaller size. It's basically a fourth of the footprint downstairs. I would have preferred for that to be another gallery or interactive space of some kind.

We struggled to figure out the point of the "Explorer" cards we were given. There was apparently some kind of scavenger hunt, but it wasn't really clear what to do. I tried to use my card to do a few interactive screens, but couldn't get them to work/respond to me. They need more staff stationed in these areas to demonstrate how it works, or if nothing else, to troubleshoot and flag it when it isn't working.

I will say that the gift shop is very nice, and has a cozy space for the Littles to hang in while parents shop. The cafe also had some solid options, very similar in scope to a Starbucks in terms of food and beverage choices. There isn't a ton of seating inside, but there is an adjacent outdoor seating area that offers overflow.

A highlight is definitely the adjacent playground, which does not require a ticket to visit (and parking is free for now too). There are tons of spaces to climb and explore, including a giant sand pit with some buried "fossils." We spent almost as much time at the playground as we did inside the museum.

We did not get to experience the quarry, as it was not yet open for the season.

Overall, my kid had fun. That's what matters. But I don't think we'll be getting a membership. We may come back one more time to do the quarry, if it gets good reviews, but otherwise I think this is a one-and-done...

My brother and I visited at 12 noon on Sunday, June 9. It was busy. We were fortunate to have snagged a parking spot in the main lot. Overflow parking is a bit further away.

The sights while approaching the impressive architectural design of the museum are equally captivating.

A gorgeous green-blue lake off to the left with geese and a few ducks. Young sweet bay magnolias and other new plants surrounding the parking lot and museum. Down to the right is the very active dig pit.

All of this is surrounded by lush old growth trees, walking/running trails, and the nicely paved new road that's like a portal to another world. One that contains ancient secrets. We grew up 5 miles away. Who knew?

It was a little chaotic inside the entrance. I think they can create a more seamless sign-in process. The kiosks seemed to be slow because it took several attempts for each of us to register our museum cards.

Then we looked around in awe. There are huge windows looking out onto an inviting terrace that faces the pit. 2 huge dinosaur skeletons in the entrance welcoming us. One which was discovered right there in the beautiful lake. The other a few miles away on the outskirts of Pitman. Museum docent, Bruce, explained about each of these fantastic discoveries, as well as information about the museum. He was very friendly and knowledgeable.

We really enjoyed the exhibits. We took our time reading the information throughout, using our museum cards at various kiosks to virtually engage with the exhibits (these were at times occupied by other museum goers and we had to wait or return a bit later) and admired the incredibly lifelike dinosaurs and tableau settings. The artistry and imagination is overwhelmingly evident throughout.

We spent approximately 1.5 hours exploring the main exhibition. 30 minutes on the terrace. 20 minutes on the lower level, viewing newly discovered fossils being worked on (it was Sunday, so unfortunately no scientists were working in the lab) and another section with marine life (a few terrariums and aquariums were not yet inhabited) but it was still interesting.

There is a cafe but we didn't try. It looks nice, though, and several folks were inside. Others brought their food and drink outside onto the terrace.

There's also a nicely designed playground outside the museum. It's free!

My brother and I were both immensely impressed by Edelman Fossil Park & Museum. I read through most of these reviews and was hesitant to go with the museum only being open 2 months, but highly recommend it for both locals and visitors to South Jersey.

I do agree with the criticism of others regarding the pricing. I think it's somewhat unreasonable to have guardians/parents pay extra for the dig site when they aren't digging, they're supervising their children which is exactly what they should be doing.

My own personal beef is the tedious credit card fee. Dear EFPM, you do not give us the option to pay in cash. Why are we paying an additional fee when the only payment you accept is credit/debit card?

All in all, it was a magical experience, and we intend to visit again before...