Calling all lovers of dinosaurs! Whether your kids are into dinosaurs, or you’d love to go on a fossil dig yourself, it’s time to head to Southern New Jersey. “New Jersey?” you look at me skeptically. Why yes. Turns out the Garden State used to be the ocean and is a hotbed of dino intrigue.
What do dinosaurs have to do with working parenthood? Nothing. And everything. As parents, we’re always looking for fun activities to do with our kiddos, right? And we want to do things with them that can be entertaining not just for little people but also for us as grown-ups, yes? Perhaps we also want to teach them about science, and about how humans might manage to survive a few more generations? This post fits squarely in the “life” side of the work-life equation.
Keeping in Touch Led Us to the Ribbon Cutting
A few weeks ago, our family got on the road and headed from Washington, DC, up to Glassboro, NJ, where my husband, Jason, had gone to undergrad at Rowan University. Ric and Jean Edelman, also Rowan Alums, had sponsored a scholarship that Jason received while at Rowan, for being President of the Student Government. Jason, being Jason (and also being the author of a book aptly called Relationships to Infinity: The Art and Science of Keeping in Touch), not only thanked Ric and Jean back when he won the scholarship, but he’s been keeping in touch with them for decades since then.
Ric and Jean Edelman generously donated $25 million to make this museum and fossil park possible, and they very kindly invited our family to join them for a day of celebration and ribbon cutting. Officially called the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum of Rowan University – and now officially open to the public – the museum is an eco-friendly, carbon-neutral wonder for all of the senses.
Digging for Dinosaurs is Meditative
Yes, the stuff inside the museum is very cool. From dinosaur bones, to the giant artistic interpretations of the Mosasaur, a.k.a. “T-Rex of the Sea,” to the interactive exhibits about climate change, and the awesome gift shop, everything was fascinating. We heard a lecture by paleontologist and Rowan alum Dr. Ken Lacovara, who discovered – and named! – a HUGE dinosaur called the Dreadnoughtus. My favorite part, though, was the fossil digging in the marl pit just outside the museum.
From May to October, anyone who visits the museum will be allowed to dig for fossils. And not just dig, but take home whatever you find! This museum manages to have torn down the wall between the public and academia, allowing everyone who visits to get their hands dirty and make original discoveries. I was disproportionately excited to dig for and find a 60+ million year old tooth from a Mackerel Shark, still completely intact. It’s sitting on my desk now, and it takes my breath away every time I think to myself, “I’m touching something no one else touched for the past 60 million years.”
I also found the digging itself to be incredibly meditative. You have to pay close attention, sift, sort, and feel through the dirt to find anything. A tiny prick to my finger tipped me off that I had a tooth in my hands. I never would have noticed, had I been rushing through the dig.
After the Dig
In a time that feels really dark and heavy, it was fun to be part of something new, and particularly, to celebrate science. The museum does an amazing job not only of leading its visitors to feel connected to dinosaurs and the earth’s ancient past, but also inspiring action that can shape the future of our planet. Their motto is “Discover the Past. Protect the Future.” And they mean it.
On our drive back to DC, Team Levin felt so inspired by our visit that we headed straight to Google to find ways we can volunteer to help the earth in our local area. We happened upon the Anacostia Watershed Society and wound up volunteering with them last weekend, sorting trash that had come out of the Anacostia River. We’d spent ages talking about signing up for a volunteer project as a family, but the fossil park actually motivated us to act.
Put the Edelman Fossil Park & Museum on your family’s to-visit list. Let me know in comments below what you think…and what you dig up when you go!
Want more practical tips on working parenthood? Check out my book, Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave
