Creation Museum in Trouble

I guess Jesus riding a dinosaur may not be so awesome after all. Kentucky's Creation Museum, a tourist attraction dedicated to illustrating the tenets of Young-Earth Creationism, is facing financial problems due to declining attendance. The museum has placed plans to build a gigantic replica of Noah's Ark on hold, and has been adding attractions with wider appeal in an effort to get more people in the door.

In hopes to draw repeat customers, the museum has added zip-lining and sky bridge courses to their attractions this summer. But when confronted by critics who wonder what the zip-lining and sky bridge attractions have to do with the museum’s message, Mike Zovath, the museums co-founder and vice president, says that the extra activities are irrelevant.

“No matter what exhibit we add, the message stays the same,” Zovath said. “It’s all about God’s word and the authority of God’s word and showing that all of these things, whether it’s bugs, dinosaurs or dragons — it all fits with God’s word.”

In their opening year, the Creation Museum garnered around 400,000 visitors, but that number steadily decreased in the following two years, with just over 254,000 visitors showing up this last year.

One wonders how many people showed up that first year just to see how messed up the place was. Obviously, such folks won't be coming back. At this point it's probably just the true believers. Creationism has also been under attack for years now in the media by both actual scientists and evangelical leaders who favor a more realistic approach to the Biblical narrative, and it may be that this has led to a decline in support. At least, one can hope.