May 25, 2007, 11:27 a.m. EDT
Hammers are pounding, dust is flying, and paint fumes are unavoidable, but hundreds of charter members of the new Creation Museum are undeterred and continue to peruse the mostly finished exhibits.
The museum is set to open Monday, amid much controversy and probably an equal amount of support. The $27 million needed to build the complex was almost all raised through donations, which came in from all corners of the country.
A group called Answers in Genesis (or AiG) came up with the idea of the museum, did the fundraising, and now runs it. AiG, which started many years ago in San Diego, calls itself an "apologetics" ministry, meaning it defends Christianity.
The basis of AiG and the Creation Museum is that the Bible is true and is the authority and that, taken literally, it can explain how the Earth came to be and how humanity got where it is today.
Mark Looy, a co-founder of AiG, said that the musuem should "educate Christians so they have the knowledge and evidence to defend their beliefs when people question them."
Looy claims that he, too, was an evolutionist before he looked into creationism and after much research, he said, he found that creationism made more sense to him and answered his questions more satisfactorily. He hopes that the museum will help others come to the same conclusion.
"It's a great place for children who are in public school and haven't really decided what to believe yet," he said.
The museum itself is impressive in size and scale. The exhibits illustrate the various beliefs and mission of AiG. One room shows two archaeologists digging up dinosaur fossils, one is an evolutionist the other a creationist. The exhibit explains that they both are looking at the same evidence but come up with different conclusions.
The tour continues to take visitors through a series of rooms. One depicts biblical times and the prophets, the next shows Martin Luther posting his 95 Theses, the printing press, and the Scopes monkey trial of 1925. Visitors are then led through rooms depicting modern times, where exhibits imply that a lack of faith hurts the family and society.
The next part of the tour journeys through the various stories of Genesis, including the Garden of Eden and Noah's Ark, and marries them with science. Adam and Eve are seen living alongside dinosaurs and Noah's Ark is used to explain why certain species went extinct.
Besides the many painstakingly detailed exhibits, the museum also boasts a large special-effects theater complete with seats that can rumble or jerk slightly to create the feeling of movement and can also surround you in mist. There is also a planetarium, restaurant, landscaped outdoor walking trails, and, of course, a bookstore and gift shop -- this one has a medieval theme.
Christians and atheists alike could be impressed by the time, labor, and cost being put into this museum. Looy said AiG encourages all people to come out and see its alternative to evolution.
The creative muscle behind the Creation Museum is AiG founder and former biology teacher, Ken Ham, a Young Earth Creationist who believes the planet, its life forms and the universe were forged during a six-day period occurring 10,000 years ago.
"I want to make it clear that we don't want to be known primarily as Young Earth Creationists," Ham said. "AiG's main thrust is on biblical authority. Believing in a relatively young Earth is a consequence of accepting the word of God as an infallible revelation from our Creator."
The Creation Museum is a high-tech facility loaded with animatronic displays, videos, a planetarium and the Special Effects Theater spread out over 60,000 square feet. Guests will gaze upon the history of the world through 55 high-definition monitors and scores of displays based on what AiG calls the Bible's "seven 'C's' of history": creation, corruption, catastrophe, confusion, Christ, cross and consummation.
Yellow Springs author/evangelist Larry Silver, who converted to Christianity from Judaism 25 years ago, believes AiG's view of the Creation is accurate.
"My gut feeling tells me the Hebrew word for day in Genesis is a 24-hour day," said Silver, whose latest book is Christian Identity. "The history of mankind is less than 10,000 years old. You can calculate that from Adam on. What the Earth was before is a mystery. All we know now is what God has told us."
The new museum is being skewered by scientists and educators who reject AiG's controversial claims.
"This so-called Creation Museum is the institutionalization of a lie," said Lawrence Krauss, professor of physics and chemistry at Cleveland's Case Western Reserve University. "It's not about religion. It's about scientific fraud."
Sam Schloemer, a member of the Ohio Board of Education, said: "This systematic undermining of science education has dangerous consequences for our nations's future."
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