Posted on 07/02/2007 1:29:36 PM PDT by balch3
The controversial $27 million Creation Museum located just outside Cincinnati has made a fairly strong start, boasting 40,000 visitors since its opening on Memorial Day.
Patrons enter the Special Effects Theater for a film presentation at the $27 million Creation Museum, which depicts a literal six-day account of creation. In its first month, 40,000 people made their way to the museum.
Counting the 9,000 visitors that pre-visited the museum, which depicts a literal six-day interpretation of creation from the Bible, the founding ministry Answers in Genesis (AiG) is well on its yearly goal of 250,000 guests, already meeting one-fifth of the total target.
Organizers are excited about the faster than expected pace, and hope the turnout continues on its current trend.
“We’re very thankful that so many people are coming out,” explained Ken Ham, co-founder of AiG, in a statement. “The feedback we’ve been getting is very positive. I’m grateful to observe that people are seeing that solid science backs the Bible.”
The museum, located in Petersburg, Ky., sparked much discussion in the past months when word got out that a Genesis-themed exhibit was going to be built. Evolution is derided at the 60,000-square-foot facility, packed with high-tech exhibits designed by an acclaimed theme-park artist, animatronic dinosaurs and a huge wooden ark. In this literal biblical version of history, dinosaurs appeared on the same day God created other land animals.
The museum also contains fossils, hung in large glass cases in a room visitors spill into after taking a tour of Old Testament history.
Both non-Christians and Christians who are against a literal interpretation of the Bible on life origins planned protests and spoke out against the anti-evolution display, worried that their children would be affected. The controversy garnered the new exhibit a large amount of media coverage. Ham even thanked the protesters after its opening for helping advertise the building as well as forcing it into its current location.
“[W]e were going to build a 30,000-square-foot building [somewhere else],” explained Ham in the Cincinnati Enquirer. “[But so many protests went on], the Lord directed us to this piece of property, right on a major freeway at a major interchange. And we decided to build a far bigger building (nearly 60,000 square feet), and a far bigger vision and a far bigger impact around the world – and I just want to thank, sincerely, the local secular humanist group.”
People who have visited the museum have expressed how impressed with how well done it was. Others were happy that there was finally a science exhibit that matched their worldview of creation.
“I’ve been a Christian for many years,” said motivational speaker Zig Ziglar in a statement, “but this museum has strengthened my faith.”
AiG workers have also reported a large increase of internet traffic going into their ministry’s website as a result of the multi-million dollar construction. On its best day, the website drew over 95,000 visitors (about 300,000 “page views”), according to members.
The museum has been booked solid every Saturday this summer for tours and has reached its capacity on a number of days.
Ministry heads expect the attendance to remain fairly high since the school year is approaching, which will bring in many more from homeschool and Christian field trips to the site.
Arkansas
There are.
It doesn’t threaten my beliefs, but I do worry about America’s youth competing in the international world of science and technology when they’ve been taught to believe ridiculousness that says dinosaurs and humans lived together.
That's just such a ridiculous statement I don't even know where to start.
Are you correlating the decline of American education with the teaching of creationism?
If he won't, I will.
IF you will allow me to add:
the decline of American education with the teaching of creationism to the exclusion of scientific observation
Are you correlating the decline of American education with the teaching of creationism?
I wouldn't call it a factor currently, because a 6,000 year old Earth is not taken seriously by the scientific community. But it certainly would not be a step in the right direction.
Ziggy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bless ya, Brother!!!!
Right. So as soon as we can get our public schools to stop teaching creationism the decline in American education will turn around?
My point is, given that our public schools are currently NOT teaching creationism and yet the quality of education in America is continuing to decline at such a rapid rate, perhaps you shouldn’t worry too much about the “threat” of creationism finding it’s way into kids minds.
There's a man in the funny papers we all know
(Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
He lived 'way back a long time ago
(Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
He don't eat nothin' but a bear cat stew
(Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
Well, this cat's name is-a Alley Oop
(Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
(Alley Oop) He's the toughest man there is alive
(Alley Oop) Wearin' clothes from a wildcat's hide
(Alley Oop) He's the king of the jungle jive
(Look at that cave man go!!) (SCREAM)
(Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
He got a chauffeur that's a genuwine dinosawruh
(Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
And he can knuckle your head before you count to fawruh
(Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
He got a big ugly club and a head fulla hairuh
(Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
Like great big lions and grizzly bearuhs
(Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
(Alley Oop) He's the toughest man there is alive
(Alley Oop) Wearin' clothes from a wildcat's hide
(Alley Oop) He's the king of the jungle jive
(Look at that cave man go!!) (SCREAM) (Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
He rides thru the jungle tearin' limbs offa trees
(Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
Knockin' great big monstahs dead on their knees
(Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
The cats don't bug him cuz they know bettah
(Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
Cuz he's a mean motah scootah and a bad go-gettah
(Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
(Alley Oop) He's the toughest man there is alive
(Alley Oop) Wearin' clothes from a wildcat's hide
(Alley Oop) He's the hullie-gullie king of jive
(Look at that cave man go!!) (SCREAM)
Thair he goes
(Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
Look at that cave man go
(Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
Ride, Daddy, ride
(Alley Oop, oop, oop, oop-oop)
Hi-yo dinosawruh
I heard some kids from a Christian school while we were on the tram up Lookout Mountain talking about their earlier trip to Ruby Falls. None of the kids believed a thing the guide told them because her talk included the fact that the cave was 10 million (or whatever number it was) years old. “Yeah,” one kid said, “everybody knows the Earth’s only 6,000 years old.”
I just shook my head.
I suppose we could start teaching L. Ron Hubbard's Zenu theory without it hurting too much either, but do we really want to?
I’m curious why homeschoolers, many of whom are taught some form of creationism, always score so high against public school children if they are so handicapped?
*ouch* That’s gonna leave a mark!
That’s Xemu...
I was brought up a Christian, went to church, Sunday school, and the like. I always loved dinosaurs and studying paleontology in my elementary and middle school years. Never once did I feel a conflict with the teachings of science and the teachings of the Bible. My science teachers and my Sunday school teachers and religious instructors never seemed to take Genesis literally. We all knew God did it, and he explained it to man thousands of years ago in a way for them to understand; he then gave us the scientific tools to learn more about his creation so we could reach beyond that simplistic view. It made perfect sense to me as a young Christian.
No one ever tried to drill creationism in my head, even the most religious of my friends and mentors, and it never affected my faith.
Now all of a sudden we've got a whole group of people who want to tear down established paleontology and geology and replace it with medieval pseudoscience; and for what? To prove a literal interpretation of their religious texts.
It seems like the reverse Enlightenment.
I’d go if there was a large black monolith in the display... say 1 x 4 x 9....
Really. Something that would push you to the next level, just by being in proximity...
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