Creation Museum

The creation museum is a creation apologetics ministry run by the ministry Answers in Genesis. They are frequently visited by families such as the Duggars and the Bates.

## History

Ken Ham, an Australian creationist and president of the ministry Answers in Genesis, came up with the idea for a creationism museum in 1982. He felt that it was important to have a place that puts what he believes is the biblical view of creation on display.

The museum opened on May 28, 2008, in Petersburg, KY. It had a $27 million budget that was privately funded. Opening day boasted 4,000 guests and a number of protestors. "The guests were very happy with the museum experience," co-founder Mark Looy said in an interview. "Of course, we had some naysayers come through and engage us in conversation, and that's fine - we want them."

Many of the animatronics in the museum, most notably dinosaurs, were designed by Patrick Marsh, a theme park designer who had previously worked on the 1984 Olympics, as well as a number of attractions in Japan.

Attractions at the museum were widely regarded as fake by many scientists, such as Lawrence Krauss, who visited on opening day and stated, "It's really impressive - and it really gives the impression that they're talking about science at some point. I'd give it a 4 [out of 5] for technology, 5 for propaganda. As for content, I'd give it a negative 5."

## Exhibits

*All of the following descriptions are taken directly from the museum's website:*

### Garden of Eden

"After making the world and all the animals, God created Adam, the first man, on the sixth day of creation. Adam named all of the animals and then God created the second person, Eve, on that same day. God placed Adam and Eve in the perfect Garden of Eden where they lived in an untarnished relationship with God. At the end of the sixth day, God called everything He had made “very good.”

### Lucy the Ape

"The Lucy exhibit features one of the most famous fossils ever discovered—*Australopithecus afarensis*. Based on bones found in Ethiopia, secular museums worldwide have created hundreds of life-size models of this female primate. Lucy has been widely portrayed as the supreme example of a “missing link” between apes and humans."

### Christ, Cross, Cosummation

This is a powerful new exhibit with stunning original artwork presenting the salvation message beginning with Genesis.

### Dr. Crawley's Insectorium

"In our world-class collection of insects from around the world, you will be transferred into a world of staggering beauty, stunning acrobatic feats, ceaseless variety, and spectacular weirdness. In Dr. Crawley’s Insectorium, you’ll learn interesting facts: for example, did you know that not all insects are bugs, but all bugs are insects?"

### Dragon Legends

"Encounter dragon legends from history and across the globe at the Creation Museum. Consult the Scriptures and decide for yourself whether dragons are myth, fairy tale, legend, or truth."

### Allosaurus

"The Creation Museum’s world-class dinosaur skeleton is an *Allosaurus fragilis*. But we like to call it “Ebenezer.” Ebenezer is believed to have one of the six or seven best-preserved *Allosaurus*skulls ever discovered."

### Noah's Ark

"The Ark would have been designed for strength, comfort, and stability. Generations before Noah we read in the Bible that people were working with bronze and iron. We don’t know what kind of technology Noah had available. Noah could have used metal, machinery, planking, and wooden nails in addition to the pitch and gopher wood materials we read about in the Bible."

#### The Flood

"During the year of the Flood, the ocean waters picked up plants and animals on the land and buried them in sequences of mud and sand layers where they became fossils. The Flood left behind layer upon layer of rocks and fossils in the present, spread right across continents. We even find huge numbers of fossils of sea creatures in the layers, including on what are now the tops of mountains all over the world as further indication of a global catastrophe when the ocean waters totally flooded over the continents."

### Dinosaur Den

"How big was a *T. rex* really? Did dinosaurs evolve into birds? Why don’t we see the word dinosaur in the Bible? How long ago did dinosaurs live? Get answers for yourself and your family when you visit the Creation Museum."

### History of the Bible

"Ever wondered how we got the Bible? Explore where the text came from; learn how it has been attacked, defended, and preserved; and even see a Gutenberg printing press replica in this exhibit."

### Natural Selection

"Natural selection is the name Charles Darwin gave to an observable process, which results in small changes in the plant and animal world, such as fur color or plant height. Darwin believed that given enough time, this process could be the primary mechanism of unobservable molecules-to-man evolution—but can it?"

### Museum of the Bible

"Museum of the Bible presents “Dragon Slayers,” an exhibit examining three dragon slayers who appear in a medieval book of hours in the museum collections."

## References

1. ↑ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10498875
2. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/may/29/usa
3. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-marsh-10638716/
4. ↑ https://creationmuseum.org/blog/2007/01/19/meet-a-team-member-patrick-marsh/
5. ↑ http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2007-05-29-creation-museum\_N.htm
6. ↑ https://creationmuseum.org/eden/
7. ↑ https://creationmuseum.org/creation-science/lucy/
8. ↑ https://creationmuseum.org/exhibits/
9. ↑ https://creationmuseum.org/creation-science/insect-collection/
10. ↑ https://creationmuseum.org/dinosaurs-dragons/legends/
11. ↑ https://creationmuseum.org/dinosaurs-dragons/allosaurus/
12. ↑ https://creationmuseum.org/bible-history/noahs-ark/
13. ↑ https://creationmuseum.org/bible-history/flood/
14. ↑ https://creationmuseum.org/dinosaurs-dragons/dino-den/
15. ↑ https://creationmuseum.org/bible-history/history-of-the-bible/
16. ↑ https://creationmuseum.org/creation-science/natural-selection/
17. ↑ https://creationmuseum.org/bible-history/museum-of-the-bible/