Walking With Dinosaurs in Leonia

Before You Go

By Jim Pytell, Assistant Editor On Aug 15, 2018

Guy Gsell is living out a childhood dream. After growing up with a serious obsession for dinosaurs, as many children do, he now finds himself literally surrounded by the prehistoric creatures every day.

Gsell is the creator of “Field Station: Dinosaurs,” a world-class family attraction in Leonia that opened in 2012. It combines cutting-edge science with the creative minds of artists to create a one-of-kind educational and interactive dinosaur park.

“Everything that I had done and worked on in my career [up until that point] came together when I said, ‘What if I built a dinosaur park?’” Gsell says. His expansive professional career includes roles such as founding director of Discovery Times Square in Manhattan and managing director of the Two River Theater Company in Red Bank.

In addition to live shows, music, games and various activities, Field Station boasts a dinosaur trail that features more than 30 full-sized animatronic dinosaurs. Gsell describes the experience as going to the zoo – except instead of seeing zoo animals, you see dinosaurs.

The park is geared towards children ages 3 to 11, but laying your eyes on a plethora of full-sized dinosaurs in a natural outdoor setting is a sight to behold for adults as well. Ultimately, kids will get the most out of what is not only a fun, but also a highly educational experience. In addition to individual admissions, the park accepts reservations for group outings including summer camps, birthday parties and school field trips.

“We take the kid’s love of dinosaurs and build on that, helping to turn it into a love of science,” Gsell says. “The kids already have the inquisitive nature and desire to explore – we are just feeding that and telling them, ‘you are scientists.’ We are supplementing the educational experiences they are getting in the classroom.”

Field Station recently opened a second park in Kansas this year, and Gsell says that building more locations is a future goal.

While designing and maintaining realistic dinosaurs may not seem like an easy task, Gsell recalls the biggest challenge that the company has faced to this point was losing its lease for its original location in Secaucus, which eventually led to the relocation to Leonia.

“It began as the low point, but then became our shining moment,” Gsell says. “We learned how many lives we had touched and learned how many people were rooting for us.”

He says he fielded calls from municipalities, chambers of commerce, counties and the state looking to provide help to keep Field Station in New Jersey.

Looking back, the biggest surprise in all of this for Gsell is not that he created a vibrant dinosaur theme park experience.

“The thing that surprised me the most is what it is like to run a business,” he says. “Although I’ve worked in the non-profit sphere, learning what it takes to run a successful business has been the steepest learning curve for me. It’s also been one of the most gratifying things because it is a real challenge.”

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