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Bible-based museum attracts thousands as protesters jeer
Tuesday, May 29, 2007 10:50 PM EDT
The Creation Museum in Boone County hosted more than 4,000 people on its first day, said Mark Looy, a co-founder and spokesman for the controversial $27 million facility.
The museum, which teaches the Earth was created in a week just a few thousand years ago, had more than 500 people in line Monday just a couple of hours after opening. The parking lot was filled with license plates from dozens of states.
"The guests were very happy with the museum experience," Looy said. "Of course, we had some naysayers come through and engage us in conversation, and that's fine -- we want them."
"I enjoyed it -- it gives a lot of detail," said Pam Bluhm of Plain City, Ohio, after she viewed the exhibits. "We brought several kids, they're doing reports on it for school, so they took a lot of pictures, are taking notes."
Several dozen protesters staged a rally arguing that the museum's central tenets conflict with scientific dating techniques that show the Earth is several billion years old.
Others who oppose the museum's assertions chose not to protest but instead view it firsthand.
"It's really impressive -- and it really gives the impression that they're talking about science at some point," said Lawrence Krauss, an author and physicist 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."
Evolution is derided at the 60,000-square-foot facility, packed with high-tech exhibits designed by an acclaimed theme-park artist, animatronic dinos and a huge wooden ark. The facility has a cafe, a 200-seat special-effects theater and planetarium.
"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."
Other exhibits show dinosaurs aboard Noah's Ark, and asserted that all animals were vegetarians until Adam committed the first sin in the Garden of Eden.
"There is no other place like this in the world -- this is a world-first," said Ken Ham, who heads the nonprofit Answers in Genesis, which built the museum on private donations. "Hopefully, maybe it will be the start of many more around the world."
Several elected officials attended a ribbon-cutting for the facility's opening on Monday, including state Sens. Richard "Dick" Roeding and Jack Westwood; state Reps. Addia Wuchner and Tom Kerr; and state Commerce Secretary George Ward.
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