Welcome to Fossil Park

Last June, 6-year-old Arya Valcarcel and her 12-year-old brother, Manuel, crouched shoulder to shoulder, sifting through mud. Suddenly, Arya spotted what looked like a pointy rock. But it wasn’t a rock at all. It was a 65-million-year-old shark tooth!

The siblings were at the Jean & Ric Edelman Fossil Park at Rowan University. That’s a 65-acre pit in New Jersey where people can help scientists hunt for fossils. The area is full of the remains of prehistoric animals, from armored crocodiles to lizards as long as school buses. Those creatures lived during the Cretaceous period, the heyday of the dinosaurs (see From Dinosaurs to Today).

Arya Valcarcel and her brother Manuel sat together sifting through mud last June. Arya is 6. Manuel is 12. Suddenly, Arya spotted something. It looked like a pointy rock. But it wasn’t a rock at all. It was a 65-million-year-old shark tooth!

The pair were at Jean & Ric Edelman Fossil Park. It’s part of Rowan University in New Jersey. The park is a 65-acre pit. People can visit to help scientists hunt for fossils. The area is full of the remains of ancient animals. That includes armored crocodiles. There are lizards as long as school buses too. Those creatures lived during the Cretaceous period. That was a time when many dinosaurs lived (see From Dinosaurs to Today).

Then, about 66 million years ago, something happened that changed the planet forever. An asteroid bigger than Mount Everest smashed into Earth. Many scientists think the event wiped out three-quarters of the world’s species, including dinosaurs.

Kenneth Lacovara is a paleontologist at Rowan University and the head of Fossil Park. He thinks some of the park’s fossils belonged to animals that died after the asteroid hit. Lacovara hopes the remains can reveal clues about the dinosaurs’ last days. 

Something happened about 66 million years ago. It changed the planet forever. An asteroid struck Earth. The space rock was bigger than Mount Everest. Many scientists think the event wiped out three-quarters of the world’s species. That includes the dinosaurs.

Kenneth Lacovara is a paleontologist. He works at Rowan University. And he’s the head of Fossil Park. He thinks some of the park’s fossils belonged to animals that died after the asteroid hit. Lacovara hopes they can reveal clues about the dinosaurs’ last days.

If you could travel millions of years back in time, the area that’s now Fossil Park would be unrecognizable. It wasn’t a mud pit surrounded by trees. It was a shallow sea full of creatures, from tiny snails to enormous sharks.

When those animals died, they sank to the bottom of the sea. Their bodies were quickly buried by sediments like sand and silt. Over time, minerals seeped into their bones, turning them into fossils (see How Fossils Form).

Imagine you could travel millions of years back in time. The area that’s now Fossil Park would look very different. It wasn’t a mud pit circled by trees. It was a shallow sea. It was full of creatures. They included tiny snails and enormous sharks.

Those animals died. They sank to the bottom of the sea. Sediments like sand and silt quickly buried the bodies. Minerals seeped into their bones over time. That turned them into fossils (see How Fossils Form).

Most animals don’t become fossils after they die. Their bodies decay or are eaten by other animals before they can be buried and preserved. “Much less than 1 percent of all things that have ever lived are recorded as fossils,” says Gregory Wilson, a paleontologist at the University of Washington.

That’s why Fossil Park is so special. The pit was a mining site from 1926 to 2015. As miners turned up fossils, the site drew the interest of scientists. The remains can help paint a vivid picture of prehistoric life.

Most animals don’t become fossils after they die. Their bodies decay. Or they’re eaten by other animals. That happens before they can be buried. “Much less than 1 percent of all things that have ever lived are recorded as fossils,” says Gregory Wilson. He’s a paleontologist at the University of Washington.

That’s why Fossil Park is so special. The pit was a mining site from 1926 to 2015. Miners dug up fossils. That drew scientists to the site. The remains can help paint a picture of life long ago.  

Twice a year, Rowan University invites the public to the park to dig for fossils. The event is very popular. All 2,000 tickets usually sell out within 20 minutes!

Arya found her shark tooth during one of these Dig Days. Usually, kids are allowed to keep what they find at Fossil Park. But Arya’s tooth belonged to a rare prehistoric shark that could grow up to 2.4 meters (8 feet) long. Rowan University kept the tooth for research and gave Arya a 3-D printed copy of it. She and Manuel were equally excited. 

“I’ve never seen a kid leave that place without a smile on their face,” Lacovara says. “They just love it.”

Rowan University invites the public to the park twice a year. Visitors get to dig for fossils. The event is very popular. All 2,000 tickets usually sell out within 20 minutes!

Arya found her shark tooth during one of these Dig Days. Usually, kids get to keep what they find at Fossil Park. But Arya’s tooth belonged to a rare prehistoric shark. The shark could grow up to 2.4 meters (8 feet) long. Rowan University kept the tooth for research. The university gave Arya a plastic copy of it. She and Manuel were both excited.

“I’ve never seen a kid leave that place without a smile on their face,” Lacovara says. “They just love it.”