Kentucky Fried Creationism
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports on the whiz-bang opening of the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. Long snippets:
The museum opened at 10 a.m. with about 500 people in line and with license plates from 31 states and two Canadian provinces in the parking lot of about 600 spaces….
"It's really impressive—and it really gives the impression that they're talking about science at some point," said critic Lawrence Krauss, professor of physics and astronomy and director of the Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics at Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University.
On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, "I'd give it a 4 for technology, 5 for propaganda," Krauss said. As for content, "I'd give it a negative 5."…
The museum, with its roaring Utah raptor and impressive computer-generated images of what Noah's Ark might have looked like plying the waves of a Great Flood, has a polish and professionalism of exhibits that would make documentary-makers, many museums and theme parks drool.
"They've got a lot of beautiful animation to attract the kids," said Thomas More College mathematics and physics professor Robert M. Riehemann. "It's as believable as any fantasy science-fiction movie or museum that you'll see."
But the flash lacks the facts, argue Riehemann, Krauss and other critics—including more than 800 scientists from Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana who signed a "statement of concern" about the museum.
"We, the undersigned scientists at universities and colleges … are concerned about scientifically inaccurate materials at the Answers in Genesis museum," the statement reads. "Students who accept this material as scientifically valid are unlikely to succeed in science courses at the college level."
"They're trying to make it look like it's your option—you can choose whichever version you want," Riehemann said. "But really, the scientific community is very strong, and very united, that the earth is more than 6,000 years old—that dinosaurs did not co-exist with human beings.
"But they want to present it as though there's really some kind of issue here among scientists," Riehemann said. "There's no real disagreement in the greater body of scientists."
"'What do you mean by mainstream science?' is what I would say," said Answers in Genesis president and co-founder Ken Ham. "By mainstream science, I would understand, 'Oh, you study cells, you study genetics, you study the physical laws.'
"What we're showing here is our scientists are mainstream scientists, and mainstream science confirms the Bible's history—that's what we're saying," Ham said. "I would say mainstream science is what this place is all about."…
Other exhibits showed dinosaurs aboard Noah's Ark, and asserted that no animals, including dinosaurs, were meat-eaters until after Adam committed the first sin in the Garden of Eden.
"Before man's fall," according to one exhibit, "animals were vegetarians. In a 'very good' creation, no animal would die, so there were no carnivores."
"There is no other place like this in the world—this is a world first," Ham said. "Hopefully, maybe it will be the start of many more around the world."
Among Kentucky dignitaries who celebrated the building's ribbon cutting on Saturday were Boone County Judge-executive Gary Moore; state Sens. Richard "Dick" Roeding and Jack Westwood; state Reps. Addia Wuchner and Tom Kerr; Kentucky Court of Appeals Judge Joy Moore; County Commissioner Charlie Kenner; state Commerce Secretary George Ward; and Paul Patton, the state's director of faith-based initiatives.
Creation Museum site online here.
Reason's Ron Bailey attended Creation Summer Camp, where some the museum's founders were, er, counselors, here.
More Reason stories on evolution here.