[Stardust]

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090...our+Museum

PETERSBURG – “Praise God,” the official at the Creation Museum told the tour group, “we are excited to have you here.”

For the 80 paleontologists, taking a break from their convention at the University of Cincinnati to tour the museum, some were skeptical, some were amused, some were offended.

But they all seemed interested to see the museum, built to tell a Creationist view of the origins of man and to rebut the theory of evolution that many of the scientists hold dear.

“I think it’s a very professional outfit and they put on a good show,” said Jason Rosenhouse, a math professor at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., and manager of a blog on evolution. “If you can sort of suspend disbelief, you can see why people get caught up in it.

“I hate the fact that this exists,” he added. “But given that it exists, I can see why people would find it compelling.”


Compelling it is. The museum hosted 1,200 people Tuesday and has hosted nearly 750,000 since it opened in May 2007. By the time the doors opened Wednesday, the line stretched out the door with people waiting in the 90-degree heat.

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With its message that the earth is only about 6,000 years old according to the Bible and that dinosaurs roamed the Earth with humans, it has fed into the national debate on teaching Creationism in schools and drawn the ire of many scientists.


The accepted scientific theory of evolution states that Earth and its life forms evolved over billions of years.


“According to evolution,” a sign fronting one exhibit at the Creation Museum says, “humans are nothing special.”


The six-day North American Paleontological Convention, which concludes Friday, includes about 500 scientists, with the Creation Museum tour only one of several field trips. Conference organizer Arnie Miller, a geology professor at UC, echoed Rosenhouse’s sentiments during the tour.


“From a pure audio-visual standpoint, it’s spectacular,” he said. “Part of it I find offensive as a scientist. It’s more than just a different point of view. They contend that if you don’t accept their view of the story in Genesis, you’re responsible for the
ills of society.”


David Menton, a speaker at the museum and a cell biologist, said the museum welcomes those who disagree with its message. He said the museum represents solid science, after starting with the belief that the Bible is literally true.


“I hope we’re not giving the impression here of hostility or disparaging of science,” Menton said. “If I shared their starting assumptions, I would come to the same conclusions. It’s when we move beyond the empirical science, what we can see and touch, that our differences emerge.”


Julia Sankey, a geology professor at California State University at Stanislaus, said she wanted to know more about the attitudes some of her students are bringing to class.


“I’m not offended, just annoyed,” Sankey said. “Why are we wasting our time on this (evolution debate)? It’s not science, and we’re wasting our time.”