Northwest Science Museum

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]

Northwest Science Museum
EstablishedJune 14, 2014 (2014-06-14)
Location1835 Wildwood St., Boise, Idaho, US
Coordinates43.622286°N 116.315965°W / 43.622286; -116.315965
TypeCreationist museum
FounderDouglas J. Bennett, Brent Carter, Rick Deighton, Stan G. Lutz[1]
DirectorDouglas J. Bennett
Websitenorthwestsciencemuseum.com

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]

References
  1. Prospectus (PDF), Northwest Science Museum, c. March 2010, pp. 9–13, archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-03-19, retrieved 2015-03-30 Check date values in: |date= (help)
  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. 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. 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
  9. 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

Further reading
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