The first year, Mantua Township, N.J., resident Kristin Sullivan wondered why there were tons of cars and police activity near a shopping plaza about a mile from her home. But she spotted a friend who was directing traffic and the next day she made a point to ask him what all the fuss was about.
“When he told me, I was interested right away,” she recalls.
The following year, she made sure to bring along her 84-year-old grandmother and her two young sons.
Sullivan makes the annual Mantua Township Community Fossil Dig Day a part of her year every September. In the three years since it started, the event has seen more than 5,000 people come through southern New Jersey’s Inversand Quarry, which has been a fossil dig site for generations of scientists continuously since 1926.
Drexel paleontologist Ken Lacovara — the same researcher who discovered the massive Dreadnoughtus schrani fossil in Patagonia described on page 20 — leads the dig event, but hunts for fossils year round there with Drexel students.
“Dinosaur paleontology began in New Jersey,” Lacovara says. “The world’s first discovered dinosaur was in Haddonfield, N.J., and was studied at what is now the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.”
Sullivan loves the dig event because it’s just so cool, and so close.
“There’s a lot of pride that goes along with it,” she says. “It’s neat for us that we live so close, knowing that we have this amazing place right near our house, and we have access to it.”
“Dinosaur paleontology began in New Jersey. The world’s first discovered dinosaur was in Haddonfield, N.J., and was studied at what is now the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University.” — Ken Lacovara
Attendees of all ages at the event have the opportunity to dig for their own fossils and learn about the site’s history and scientific importance, then observe the live excavation area where Drexel students are unearthing scientifically significant, articulated vertebrate fossils, like sea turtles and crocodiles. Attendees often find marine animal remains from 65 million years ago, including fossilized shark teeth, shark feces and clams — and in most cases they can take home what they find.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re 3 or 93, it’s just an amazing day. Everyone is just so excited to be a part of it,” Sullivan says.
Individuals interested in joining the waiting list for the 2015 Community Fossil Dig Day and groups interested in arranging other site tours and field trips should contact Michelle Bruner at mbruner@mantuatownship.com.