Haddy: a dinosaur and a community
The fossil, the bronze landmark and the people who helped make a dinosaur part of local identity.
HaddyDino editorial voice · Researched introduction · October 13, 2026. This is not an eyewitness memoir.
Three kinds of Haddy
I want this project to keep the science and the community story together. It also helps to know which Haddy we mean. Hadrosaurus foulkii is the prehistoric animal described from the fossil remains. A museum reconstruction is a way of presenting that evidence. The downtown Haddy is a modern bronze sculpture.
They are connected, but they are not the same object. A photograph of the sculpture documents a work of public art; an illustration of a living hadrosaur imagines an animal whose appearance cannot be recovered in every detail.
A downtown landmark
Artist John Giannotti created the bronze Haddy at Kings Highway and Lantern Lane. The sculpture has been in Haddonfield since October 2003. The Haddonfield Outdoor Sculpture Trust identifies the Garden Club's role in initiating the community project to commemorate the local dinosaur discovery.
The bronze brings the subject into the everyday setting of the town. You do not need to start with a technical paper to become curious about the discovery. From the landmark, you can follow the story back to 1858, then forward into the community's own photographs and memories.
Students and a state symbol
Hadrosaurus foulkii became New Jersey's official state dinosaur in 1991. The New Jersey Geological Survey credits teacher Joyce Berry and her fourth-grade classes at Strawbridge Elementary School in Haddon Township with working toward that recognition. Haddon Township and Haddonfield are distinct places; their parts in this story should not be confused.
That chapter gives this project another useful starting point: a dinosaur story can also be a story about students asking questions, learning how government works and taking an interest in the place where they live.
Your chapter belongs here
HaddyDino's community section is an invitation, not a collection of invented testimonials. If you have a memory or an image you are authorized to share, an editor can review it before publication. We keep private contact details out of the public story.
The artwork on this site is labeled separately from documentary photographs. The realistic dinosaur illustration is AI-assisted interpretive art, not a photograph of the bronze sculpture or an eyewitness record. You can explore the visitor guide, the discovery story and the community archive without leaving HaddyDino.
Sources & research notes
Original HaddyDino writing based on the sources below. These optional links open separately.