ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Colin wrote:

> The United States is probably the only country in the world with a
> Creation Museum.  We probably even have more than one of these. What
> we need is not just listserve discussion and letters to the editor in
> support of evolution, but people like you all to start making
> evolution exhibits to address the ignorance and misconceptions that
> your visitors possess.

--> Sadly, there are now at least 15 separate creationist museums in the
USA. I've visited ones in San Diego and Glenn Rose... they start off quite
simply - often out of trailers - but they gather funds and are now quite
impressive buildings. The one in San Diego is worth visiting - it has
mini-reproductions of the ark, of the garden of Eden... and various other
bits.

--> There are also museums in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Turkey, Russia
and elsewhere. It's often been said they are due to American missionaries.

> Although I think a separate thread for discussion of evolution would
> simply be yet another victory for anti-evolution participants
> (hopefully a minority, here!), I would support the idea of having a
> separate site on the Internet where ISEN members might collect
> photographs and related documents (handouts, activities) for existing
> evolution-containing exhibits -- to serve as a resource for other
> members who are motivated to develop similar exhibits.  At the very
> least, wouldn't it be mildly useful to have a list of museums (etc.)
> in the U.S. that have evolution exhibits, just so
> evolution-supporters on this list can contact the directors for more
> information?  Equally useful would be institutions that have found a
> way to educate (and entertain) visitors on the nature of science.

--> I will willingly volunteer to gather information of this kind on a
non-partisan web site. If people would like to send me any information they
have, along with any ideas for how to catalog it and present it, we could at
least get a start and improve upon it with time. I enjoy building web sites
in my spare time - I'm not a professional so can't do much of the fancy
stuff but I can put together something attractive and worthwhile. I have
kept quite a lot of the emails from this list, on this discussion -
especially those citing resources and links. If no one has any objection, I
could at least get a start with those and put up a link for others here to
look over and offer constructive criticism. I won't however put up any
museum names or other endorsements until those have actually been given.


Amanda

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