A Visit to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY

The Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY has been on my list of places to visit for quite some time. I understood it to be a museum that presented scientific facts consistent with the scriptures. I was looking for a museum that would compare commonly held theories, Science vs. Scripture and then show me why the scriptures can explain it correctly. I only saw that once, which I will explain later.

There are very few actual artifacts; everything was a replica of what they were showing. A replica of a dinosaur bone, skeleton, pottery, hand tools, rocks, etc. It was simply not a museum in the usual sense of the word. I was quite disappointed. There was very little "real" inside. I would say it's a Disneyland Museum, all fake, but beautifully done.

The walk through the museum takes you through the ages from creation to the present day using scripture, not science to back up their presentation. It's a better version of Bible Gardens, Bible Lands, and other small tourist attractions I've seen over the years.

Some rooms are gorgeous, taking us through the Garden of Eden, the building of Noah's Ark and other Bible passages. Other rooms are simply huge photographs with text which children would not relate to as well. I found those rooms dull and hard to spend time in. I was reading mostly scripture I have memorized already or read frequently.

One display caught my interest. It was about how the coal beds were formed. It stated the coal beds were flat on the top and bottom and showed diagrams. The theory is that they were formed through centuries of foliage and matter pressing it into coal.

The display explained (through tedious reading) that if that were so, the layers would not be level because of the growing and falling trees, root systems and other activity causing many bumps in the levels over millions of years.

What actually happened, they said, was the flood caused a massive disruption of all foliage. The floating timber and decayed foliage settled in large masses at one time over a few months of drying up flood water. This layer when pressed by earth over hundreds of years formed the level coal beds. This is my "off the cuff" version as I remember it, but this is exactly what I was looking for. Unfortunately I only found this one example. There are probably other examples like this but I didn't find them.

There was a wonderfully entertaining program called Men in White. It was a film about finding the real purpose and meaning in life. It was delightful. Surprisingly interactive in some ways. I enjoyed it tremendously except for a few parts.

The film disparaged educators who taught the Theory of Evolution and the two Men in White remarked that in a classroom you are not allowed to challenge them. Our two Men in White, dressed as students, were in the back of the room making fun of the cartoonish and boorish educators. This of course is inflammatory. Many who hold and teach the Theory of Evolution are well respected and wonderful people.

These Educators are wrong, in my opinion, but not to be ridiculed. I would have much preferred to see both sides presented on the same level. The Creationist would be as respected as the Educator, both presenting their view in a respectful way and let the student choose which he believes. The Creationist Theory is actually more believable when compared logically. There is no need to stack the deck.

I also believe that showing students sitting in the back of the room ridiculing the teacher to be in poor taste. Even if teachers are wrong, children should respect them, if not their view. But this was one presentation and it was, aside from that small episode, very entertaining, lots of comedy relief and quite educational.

Over all the rooms, in the museum, the Bible is presented in a traditional way. Some disagreement over details may crop up, but is an important place to bring children to so they can see that Bible times were real times. History according to the Bible is different than secular history.

Once I realized this is not a traditional museum I did enjoy the Disneyland aspect of the re-created scenes. The Garden of Eden is fun and vivid to a child. It is something to remember and know it was a real place. The room that was a replica of an Egyptian Temple was awe inspiring. The area devoted to Noah's Ark was huge and magnificent. Not only was it nearly life size, but there were many display windows with miniature Arks in another room that detailed certain features. There were even a few interactive games for small children. It was grand. I will be publishing a slide show with many wonderful pictures of these rooms.

The Creation Museum had a full sized Christian bookstore with gift items. There was nice seating and a place for children to play while parents browsed. While we were there they had a guest musician in the bookstore to autograph and sell CD's. This musician also performed a show several times during the day which was very entertaining.

The restaurant inside the museum was themed as a garden and well designed. It was a pleasure to dine in. The prices were fabulous. They offered great sandwiches and salads at fast food prices. Definitely plan to eat there. The Pot Roast sandwich comes highly recommended. It's a complete meal in itself at a little over $5.00. The room was spotless, the tables and chairs were new looking and very clean. I appreciated napkins and condiments available at the table.

Outside the Creation Museum they had a lovely botanical garden with a barrel bridge, a suspended bridge and walkways. There were fountains and many grasses and flowers. It was delightful.

In the far corner of the compound there is a small petting zoo. It was merely cages with animals that you were allowed to feed and pet. There was not much of a theme or any beauty there. The animals were well behaved and appeared well cared for. There was an attendant who watched the activity to make sure the animals were not mistreated by guests. During certain hours in the afternoon you can ride a camel for a small fee. The petting zoo needed trees and ponds and flowers. It was very hot and completely bare of these items.

Overall I would give the Creation Museum a letter grade B as an attraction, not a museum. I would definitely recommend a visit there. They offer a good price on two day tickets. We were there about six hours and felt we covered it reasonably well. We left before closing. The parking lot is well guarded by a visible security guard who also directs you in and out of the parking lot.

The regular adult tickets is $21.99, seniors and children have reduced prices. Active Military is free and their families 50% off. Firefighters and Police are also given free entrance. They are open seven days a week!