There are tail-wagging animatronic dinosaurs, a special effects cinema, a planetarium and a petting zoo. As museums go, the Creation Museum in Petersburg is not short on attractions.
And it doesn’t want for space either. Set in 49 acres of well-groomed grounds – that’s 35 more than London’s Natural History Museum – this is the biggest creationist museum in the United States.
Behind it all is a Christian ministry, Answers in Genesis, committed to spreading its belief that the universe was created by direct acts of God over six days, less than 10,000 years ago. The museum, which cost $27m (£17m) to build, opened two years ago.
And while millions of people the world over will spend 2009 celebrating Charles Darwin’s memory – it’s 200 years since he was born and 150 years since his seminal work, the Origin of Species, which set out his theory of evolution, was published – many others will side with this museum’s theme: “life doesn’t evolve around Darwin”.
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Well, to be fair, in the mainstream media, the idea of creationism, which is equal in weight with evolution. As Freeman Dyson said,
“Science and religion are two windows that people look through, trying to understand the big universe outside, trying to understand why we are here. The two windows give different views, but they look out at the same universe. Both views are one-sided, neither is complete. Both leave out essential features of the real world. And both are worthy of respect.
Trouble arises when either science or religion claims universal jurisdiction, when either religious or scientific dogma claims to be infallible. Religious creationists and scientific materialists are equally dogmatic and insensitive. By their arrogance they bring both science and religion into disrepute. The media exaggerate their numbers and importance. The media rarely mention the fact that the great majority of religious people belong to moderate denominations that treat science with respect, or the fact that the great majority of scientists treat religion with respect so long as religion does not claim jurisdiction over scientific questions”
The BBC article mentions our own creationist museum in Portsmouth. This is Genesis Expo; I went there in February and assessed the exhibits. Describing it as “dwarfed” by its US counterpart is being kind.
sounds cool.
can’t believe how big it is!
Hasn’t this museum been posted about already a while back? Or am I confusing blogs? *goes to search archives*
Ahaha…each to their own i guess…
But seriously, do creationist really think the earth is just 10.000 years old?…i must have missed sumthin :-/
The thing is, if it were simply presenting a history of the doctrine of creationism, it might actually be vaguely interesting from an intellectual point of view.
Evidently, though, it’s dogmatic propoganda and should thus be avoided by all except crazed religious fundamentalists. Shame, really. Although I am a committed atheist, I do find theology an interesting philosophical discipline. When it isn’t presented impartially, however, it merely serves to irritate.
This place is “the biggest creationist museum in the United States”? We have multiple creationist museums? Fantastic.
Bizarre to see this after last night watching Dr Alice Roberts in the final installment of her interesting series ‘The Incredible Human Journey’ looking at the evidence of modern humans living in the Americas 13,000 years ago. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00l7pmr/The_Incredible_Human_Journey_The_Americas/
It actually sounds like a pretty good laugh. I would definately visit if I was in the neighbourhood.
They are funny! Maybee because I’m european. Good didn’t scatter a lot of creationists over here. So we can afford to just laugh.
What a terribly written one-sided piece. Where was the fact that such places are universally mocked by mainstream science? People coming in cold to this subject would come away with the impression that creationism and evolution are two equally valid competing theories.
To be clear: there is not a single shred of evidence for any of the creationist claims, and not a single one of them is prepared to even devise an experiment to test their ideas, something which is the very basis of good science. This place would be laughable if it wasn’t distorting and subverting science education in the States, not to mention being a colossal waste of money.
Bring it over and i will see into it! Needs to be placed in the province of Groningen (all zoo’s, amusement parks and such are always in another province), otheriwise they are not winners.
Ofcourse people would check .. why not, if you’re in the neighbourhood .. made my christians .. made by darwinists … made by aliens .. who cares. Passing time .. and you need opponents to base yourself even better in your insights/ideas/thoughts … or for having a good laugh ..
Kids will love it .. they dont care about the texts ..
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/06/dont_go_down_this_road_bbc.php
I do remember someone posting a link to it here… have to admit to guffawing a bit at the image of two brotosauruses getting on board Noah’s ark in one diorama.
It’s widely reckoned that Ken Ham must’ve seen “the Flintstones” and assumed he was watching a documentary. The middle ground between all available scientific data and an unproven assumption is not the truth. Ken Ham puts the creation of the earth sometime after the domestication of the dog.
There is such a thing as being so open-minded your brain falls out.
Why would there be dinosaurs at a creationist museum?
I saw an interview with the author of “lost boys” this weekend, a book about boys who are booted out of the FLDS religion, obviously to increase the female to male ratio. And in this interview he said that they taught that Dinosaurs come from other planets. 7 other planets to be preciese.
Crazy is if anything, entertaining.
I like Eddie Izzard’s interpitation of science v religion saying something to the effect of if science cant find an answer that doesnt mean we should just accept magic as a solution.
Hansen – I think, from what I understand Ken Ham believes Dinosaurs were created by god in the same week as everything else (is it the 4th day?) Not sure what his extinction theory was, but the crucial thing is they never evolved.
I would have thought two tyrannosauruses on Noah’s ark might have been a bit of a handful, but apparantly for no scientific reason whatsoever, in spite of their razorsharp teeth and distinct absence of molars, T-Rex were vegetarians!
I feel the need to point out (since the Creation Museum is in my backyard) that the man quoted in the article (Robert Mailloux) is standing in front of what my friend has termed the “Sad Christian Orangutan.” It’s a huge closeup photo of an orangutan with the words, “Why do I hurt inside?”
I’ve heard they have a Noah’s Ark ride. SCORE!