By Peter Elacqua
Staff Writer
MARLBORO – An annual celebration of the era when dinosaurs roamed the Earth will take place from noon to 2:30 p.m. April 23 in Marlboro.
Dinosaur Discovery and Kids Day will be held at the Marlboro Recreation Community Center, Wyncrest Road. Residents of all ages and all towns are welcome to attend. There is no cost to attend.
Dr. Paul Kovalski, a former member of the Marlboro Township Council, has once again organized the event. Guests will receive a free tree sapling, dinosaur related gifts and shark teeth that date back 65 million years.
“I organized Dinosaur Day to bring recognition of one of the top three fossil dinosaur sites in New Jersey in Monmouth County,” Kovalski said. “This event coincides with Earth Day and highlights the importance of conserving our natural resources and our environment for us and future generations to enjoy, explore and learn.”
Exhibitors at Dinosaur Discovery and Kids Day will include the New Jersey State Museum, the Marlboro Shade Tree Commission, Marlboro historical societies, paleontological groups and private researchers.
“We encourage our visitors to bring specimens for identification,” Kovalski said. “Free fossils will be given out and fun will be had by everyone.”
At 1 p.m. there will be a dinosaur puppet show presented by Field Station Dinosaur.
In other prehistoric Marlboro news, a fossil hunting excursion will take place on May 13 or June 10 from 2-4 p.m. Participants will gather in the Vanderburg Road soccer complex parking lot and travel to Marlboro’s Big Brook Park to explore the creek bed.
The fossil hunting trip is for ages 4 and up (parents must accompany children). The cost is $13 per Marlboro resident and $16 per non-resident.
Pre-registration is required and the deadline for pre-registration is five days prior to either date at https://register.communitypass.net/marlboro listed under Family Programs 2017 online.
Information on Marlboro’s website states, “Did you know Marlboro is home to one of the most productive fossil sites in the east? Come join Dr. Paul Kovalski Jr. and Lynne Gustman from the Recreation Department for an amazing search for shark’s teeth, Belemnite, Exogyra (500-year-old clamshells) Vertebra and much more.
“See and learn firsthand what lived here when New Jersey was part of the ocean floor. Bring a strainer and shovel. Wear old clothing, boots if desired, and be prepared to get wet. We’re heading down into a creek bed.”
