NEW JERSEY

Dinosaur Deb’z Travels

NEW JERSEY

The Hadrosaurus foulkii was the first dinosaur to be discovered in North America. It was unearthed near Haddonfield New Jersey in 1858. The Hadrosaurids are duck-billed dinosaurs. This class of dinosaurs all have a flattened, shovel-faced snout. They lived during the late cretaceous period (65-89 mya). They mostly ate woody plants and pine needles. They had rows of grinding teeth, like what you would see in a cow’s mouth, to grind down their fibrous foods.

I DIG HADDONFIELD, NEW JERSEY

I’ve done a lot of traveling, hiking and camping in the state of New Jersey. The state has many beautiful areas. In 1976, I was a part of the Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage (northeast train) and rode my way through many wonderful towns on my way to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. More about that in a later post.

Jersey’s State Dinosaur was adopted on June 13, 1991. It was named after the town of Haddonfield (Hadrosaurus) and in honor of naturalist William Parker Foulke (foulkii), who found the bones. In 1994, the site was granted Natural Historic Landmark Status, and a statue stands in the center of town. You can visit the Hadrosaurus foulkii Leidy Natural Historic Site in Haddonfield, New Jersey.

WHERE YOU CAN VISIT SOME OF NEW JERSEY’S DINOSAURS

NEW JERSEY STATE MUSEUM

205 W. State Street, Trenton, NJ 08608. (609)292-6464

There is the complete skeleton of the hadrosaurs, discovered in Haddonfield. The museum is free, however there may be charges for the planetarium and dinosaur exhibits. They have children’s Dino-Safari’s. Call for dates and times.

RUTGERS GEOLOGY MUSEUM

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Geology Hall, 2nd Floor
85 Somerset Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. P: (848) 932-7243. F: (732) 932-1789

Admission is always free and there is always something exciting going on! This museum concentrates on fossils and dinosaurs found in New Jersey. A mastodon found in Salem County in 1870 has been made into an excellent exhibit. Only its legs and tusks have been reconstructed.

“Wow! I had such a fun time at the museum.

I enjoyed seeing the mummy, dinosaur bones, and minerals. In addition, I had a wonderful time doing the scavenger hunt. I hope we can go to the museum again someday.”

– 3rd Grade visitor to the Museum bones of four different dinosaurs.

Riggs Hill Brachiosaurus Discovery Marker

GARDEN PARK FOSSIL AREA

Garden Park Paleontology Society, PO Box 313, Canyon City, Colorado 81215-0313

You could nick-name this site “Jurassic Park” because historically, this was where 2 great fossil hunting detectives, Edward Drinker Cope and Othneil Charles Marsh clashed in ‘Bone Wars”. Both men had teams of diggers working for them in the 1870’s. All totaled, they discovered the remains of 17 dinosaurs. Whew!

While there have no longer been any more big finds, discoveries are still being made. The site is open year round. The Garden Park Educational Center is open to the public.

There are many other trails and dinosaur sites in this beautiful state. I recommend going online to check out these other sites, where they are located, and some dinosaur lover’s recommendations. Enjoy