Wednesday, February 13, 2008

 

At Tale of Two Museums

An interesting juxtaposition in the Cincinnati area is the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in downtown Cincinnati and the Creation Museum in nearby Petersburg, Kentucky. The Freedom Center has struggled financially from before day one and the Creation Museum is a rousing success.

The Freedom Center opened in 2004. Despite large donations and public funding for construction, etc, the center requested public money in 2006 to continue operations. Now it is requesting $3.7 million in state funds for capital expenses. A big part of the center's problem is low visitation.
The $80 million Freedom Center opened in August 2004. Attendance was 280,000 during its first year but has dropped significantly.

The center expects to finish its second year with 160,000 visitors, Bernish said, and has a goal of having 200,000 visitors a year.
You don't have to be a marketing research expert to realize that not a lot of white folks are going to visit a museum to feel guilty.

In contrast, the Creation Museum is exceeding expectations.
Officials with the museum say they surpassed the one-year attendance goal in only seven months, drawing 290,000 visitors through the end of 2007. When the museum opened on Memorial Day with protesters outside, Creation Museum officials said their 12-month goal in attendance was 250,000. They passed the 300,000 mark Jan. 9.
The Creation Museum was built entirely with private funds.

I don't care to get involved in the creation/evolution debate. I don't support teaching creationism in public schools. But, if you want to build a Creation Museum, go for it. I found it amusing the reactions of the evolutionists.
Gene Kritsky, evolutionary biologist, says, "At the risk of sounding really mean, it's almost like intellectual molestation."
"What they are doing is no less an attack on the very way that science and enlightened thought works to produce the modern world. They want to substitute mythology for knowledge. Ignorance is a form of terrorism."
But, obviously, a lot more people are interested in the Creation Museum than the Freedom Center. Is this a tragedy? Not really. Indeed, I can easily come up with a tour of local homes and sites that would better ingrain in the minds of participants the horrors of slavery than an air conditioned museum.

Comments:
What an interesting piece. It definitely gave me something to think about.

I really enjoy keeping up with your blog once again.

You might want to check out my latest entry. As a Dad of a young woman, I can imagine that you have some thoughts on the subject.

http://russelllindsey.blogspot.com/2008/02/valentines-day-take-it-or-leave-it.html

Lindsey
 
Interesting to note this story about the new Intelligent Design movie: "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed:

Christian schools are being offered cash “donations” for every child they deliver to showings of "Expelled," which it is hoped they will do by organising compulsory school trips. The school receives at least $5 for every ticket stub they hand back to the filmmakers. The film gets more viewers, the school gets more cash, the kids get intellectually misled, and everyone’s a winner.
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As far as museums go, I'd recommend the American Museum of Natural History. While there, check out the Hall of Human Origins.

It should speak very alarmingly to all of us when a major presidential candidate - Huckabee, not only says he doesn't believe in evolution but doesn't believe we "evolved from primates". Here's a clue: humans ARE primates!

Not surprising in a country where 20% of our population thinks the sun revolves around the earth. Yea, thats all we need, a "Creation Mueseum"
 
The animals closest to humans are pigs, considering internal construction and "component compatibility".

I find it funny that scientists are still searching hard for the missing link to tie humans and primates together with 100% certainty.

At this point in time, will it make any difference?
 
Christian schools are not being offered cash to deliver students to this movie, moron. Stop the insanity...and go to confession.

Evolutionists and creationists come to the same evidence, they simply look at it through a different prism.

Creationists' conclusions are based on biblical events/history, while evolutionists' beliefs are based on an assumption that the rate of carbon 14 dissipation to carbon 12 dissipation "must" be the same as what we could prove NOW (in other words, they really don't know how much carbon 14 they started with).

Takes a lot more faith to think that one day lightening hit a mud puddle and formed a perfect human being than to believe in Intelligent design.

As far as schools go, either both or neither should be taught.
 
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