Northwest Science Museum

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Northwest Science Museum
Northwest Science Museum logo.png
Northwest Science Museum
EstablishedJune 14, 2014 (2014-06-14)
Location1835 Wildwood St., Boise, Idaho, US
Coordinates 43°37′20″N116°18′57″W / 43.622286°N 116.315965°W / 43.622286; -116.315965
Type Creationist museum
FounderDouglas J. Bennett, Brent Carter, Rick Deighton, Stan G. Lutz [1]
DirectorDouglas J. Bennett
Website northwestsciencemuseum.com

Northwest Science Museum is a creationist museum in Idaho. It opened on June 14, 2014. [2] [3] The museum's directors plan to create a 350,000 square foot facility including a full-scale model of Noah's Ark near Boise, Idaho, replacing the museum's current "Vision Center" near the state capitol in Boise. [4] The museum's founders say that their collection of Ica stones offer proof that humans and dinosaurs coexisted, [5] that out-of-place artifacts constitute "damaging evidences [sic] against evolution", [6] and they can show with other evidence the Earth is 6,000 years old and it was physically possible for Noah to bring dinosaurs on board the Ark. [3] [7]

Contents

Inspiration

Fundraising documents published by the founders cite the Creation Museum in Kentucky as establishing the viability of a similar concern in Idaho. [8]

Collection

The museum's collection includes petrified wood, fossil dinosaur eggs, the Ica stones mentioned above and a replica of the "Lone Star" mastodon skull. [9] They present the fossils as having been formed about 4,500 years ago in the Biblical Flood. [9]

Criticism

Almost three years before the museum opened, Hemant Mehta said "this place is going to be ripe for mockery...misnamed twice over — it's not science and it's hardly a museum". [10] The Raw Story called Northwest Science Museum's Ica stones "fraudulent" and "a favorite artifact of many conspiracy theorists". [11] London's The Independent newspaper filed the museum's opening under "weird news". [2] A Salon.com editorial called it "beyond frustrating [n]ot just because of the pseudo-science dribbling out, but the fact that young children are being fed nonsense under the guise of 'true science'". [7] Salon also found "much to take issue with — right down to the organization’s misleading use of the terms 'science' and 'museum.'" [7]

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Kent Hovind American Christian fundamentalist and Young Earth Creationist

Kent E. Hovind is an American Christian fundamentalist evangelist and tax protester. He is a controversial figure in the Young Earth creationist movement whose ministry focuses on denial of scientific theories in the fields of biology (evolution), geophysics, and cosmology in favor of a literalist interpretation of the Genesis creation narrative found in the Bible. Hovind's views, which combine elements of creation science and conspiracy theory, are dismissed by the scientific community as fringe theory and pseudo-scholarship. He is controversial within the Young Earth Creationist movement; and, Answers in Genesis openly criticized him for continued use of discredited arguments abandoned by others in the movement.

Ken Ham Australian Christian fundamentalist

Kenneth Alfred Ham is an Australian Christian fundamentalist, young Earth creationist and apologist, living in the United States. He is the founder, CEO, and former president of Answers in Genesis (AiG), a Christian apologetics organization that operates the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter.

Young Earth creationism Form of creationism

Young Earth creationism (YEC) is a form of creationism which holds as a central tenet that the Earth and its lifeforms were created in their present forms by supernatural acts of the Abrahamic God between approximately 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. In its most widespread version, YEC is based on the religious belief in the inerrancy of certain literal interpretations of the Book of Genesis. Its primary adherents are Christians and Jews who believe that God created the Earth in six literal days, in contrast with old Earth creationism (OEC), which holds literal interpretations of Genesis that are compatible with the scientifically determined ages of the Earth and universe and theistic evolution, which posits that the scientific principles of evolution, the Big Bang, abiogenesis, solar nebular theory, age of the universe, and age of Earth are compatible with a metaphorical interpretation of Genesis.

Answers in Genesis Nonprofit promoting Young Earth creationism

Answers in Genesis (AiG) is an American fundamentalist Christian apologetics parachurch organization. It advocates Young Earth creationism on the basis of its literal, historical-grammatical interpretation of the Book of Genesis and the Bible as a whole. Out of belief in biblical inerrancy, it rejects the results of scientific investigations that contradict their view of the Genesis creation narrative and instead supports pseudoscientific creation science. The organization sees evolution as incompatible with the Bible and believes anything other than the young Earth view is a compromise on the principle of biblical inerrancy.

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Ron Wyatt American creationist (1933–1999)

Ronald Eldon Wyatt was an American nurse anesthetist noted for advocating the Durupınar site in Turkey as the location of Noah's Ark's landing place, along with almost 100 other alleged biblically-related discoveries.

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Akron Fossils & Science Center Museum in Copley, Ohio

The Akron Fossils & Science Center is a small museum and learning center located in Copley Township, Ohio, United States, a few miles west of Akron. The building contains the Creation Education Museum, which features exhibits displaying the arguments for and against creationism and intelligent design, as well as an exploration of the relationship between science and the Bible. The building also houses several areas with interactive tour stations and activities focused on hands-on science. An outdoor park offers playground equipment and a 200 ft zip-line.

Creationist museum Facility that hosts exhibits to present a young Earth creationist view

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The debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham on the question "Is Creation A Viable Model of Origins?" was held February 4, 2014, at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky.

New Mexicans for Science and Reason Organization

New Mexicans for Science and Reason is a science advocacy organization based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded by Skeptical Inquirer editor Kendrick Frazier on May 16, 1990. As of 1998 the President is physicist and mathematician Dave Thomas. Thomas was still the President in spring of 2018 In 1996 creationists on the New Mexico School Board tried to change science standards to water down instruction of evolution. NMSR was instrumental in having that decision reversed.

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Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum Creationist museum in Glendive, Montana, U.S.

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<i>We Believe in Dinosaurs</i> 2019 film on Ark museum

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Human-dinosaur coexistence

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References

  1. ↑ Prospectus (PDF), Northwest Science Museum, c. 2010, pp. 9–13, archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-03-19, retrieved 2015-03-30
  2. 1 2 Saul, Heather (June 20, 2014), "New creationist museum explains how Noah managed to fit dinosaurs on the ark", The Independent , London, archived from the original on November 7, 2018, retrieved December 2, 2017
  3. 1 2 Dutton, Audrey (June 18, 2014), "New Boise creationist museum seeks to promote 'true science' by disputing evolution", Idaho Statesman , Boise, Idaho
  4. ↑ La Ganga, Maria L. (March 29, 2015), "Creationist museum feels right at home in conservative Idaho", The Los Angeles Times , archived from the original on January 5, 2016, retrieved March 30, 2015– via The Seattle Times
  5. ↑ Robinson, Jessica (October 3, 2014), Founders Of Idaho Creation Museum Urge Visitors To 'Think Critically', Boise, Idaho: KBSX-FM/Boise State Public Radio, archived from the original on April 6, 2015, retrieved March 30, 2015
  6. ↑ Exhibits, Northwest Science Museum, archived from the original on 2015-04-02, retrieved 2015-03-30
  7. 1 2 3 Gray, Sarah (June 19, 2014), "New creationism museum says Noah brought baby dinosaurs aboard the ark: The Northwest Science Museum was opened up to promote "true science"", Salon.com , archived from the original on October 17, 2014, retrieved March 30, 2015
  8. ↑ Creationist museum opens in Boise with big plans, Associated Press, June 18, 2014 – via KSL[ permanent dead link ]
  9. 1 2 Yapching, Mark (March 27, 2015), "Creationist museum in Idaho takes different approach to presenting exhibits", Christian Today , archived from the original on March 28, 2015, retrieved March 31, 2015
  10. ↑ Mehta, Hemant (July 19, 2011), The NorthWest 'Science' 'Museum' Set to Open in Idaho, archived from the original on April 2, 2015, retrieved March 30, 2015
  11. ↑ Kaufman, Scott (October 3, 2014), "Creationist museum: Our fraudulent 'Ica Stones' prove man rode on triceratops dinosaurs", The Raw Story , archived from the original on April 2, 2015, retrieved March 30, 2015

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