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{{Short description|Museum in Kentucky promoting creationism}}
{{About|the museum in Kentucky|other creation museums|Creationist museum}}
{{pp-pc|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox museum
| name                = Creation Museum
| logo                = Creation Museum logo.png
| logo_alt            = Creation Museum
| image               = AIG museum.jpg
| map_type    =  Kentucky#USA
| map_relief  = 1
| caption             = The front of the Creation Museum
| alt                 = The front of the Creation Museum
| coordinates         = {{Coord|39|05|10|N|84|47|00|W|type:landmark|display=inline}}
| established         = {{Start date|2007|05|28}}
| location            = [[Petersburg, Boone County, Kentucky|Petersburg, Kentucky]], U.S.
| type                = [[Creationist apologetics|Creation apologetics]] ministry
| visitors            = 254,074 (2011)
| owner               = [[Answers in Genesis]]
| founder             = [[Ken Ham]]
| website             = {{URL|creationmuseum.org}}
}}

The '''Creation Museum''', located in [[Petersburg, Boone County, Kentucky|Petersburg, Kentucky]], United States, is a museum that promotes a [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] form of<!-- Please do not remove the word "pseudoscientific". There is a longstanding consensus to use that word here. If you disagree, please discuss it on the talk page. --> [[young Earth creationism]] (YEC), portraying the [[origin of the universe]] and [[History of life|life on Earth]] based on a literal interpretation of the [[Genesis creation narrative]] of the Bible. It is operated by the Christian [[creationist apologetics|creation apologetics]] organization [[Answers in Genesis]] (AiG).

The {{convert|75000|sqft|sqm|adj=on}} museum cost {{USD}}27&nbsp;million, raised through private donations, and opened on May 28, 2007. In addition to the main collection, the facility has a special effects theater, a [[planetarium]], an ''[[Allosaurus]]'' skeleton and an insect collection. As the headquarters of AiG, the museum has approximately 300 employees, and permanent employees must sign a statement of faith affirming their belief in AiG's principles.

Reflecting young-Earth creationist beliefs, the museum depicts humans and dinosaurs coexisting, portrays the [[Ussher chronology|Earth as approximately 6,000 years old]], and disputes the [[theory of evolution]]. Scientists, educators, and theologians have criticized the museum for misrepresenting science and expressed concerns that it could harm science education, and even some Christians have expressed concern that its rejection of [[scientific consensus]] could damage the credibility of Christianity and its adherents. Tenets of young-Earth creationism enjoy substantial support among the general population in the United States, however, contributing to the museum's popularity.<ref name=sundayind/><ref name="newport"/><ref name=pew/>

The museum is controversial and has received much commentary from cultural observers and the museum community. Scholars of [[museum studies]], like Gretchen Jennings, have said that creationist exhibitions lack "valid connection with current worldwide thinking on their chosen discipline" and with "human knowledge and experience", and are not in their view museums at all.<ref name=jennings>{{cite journal
 |last         = Jennings
 |first        = Gretchen
 |title        = Creationist "Museums" Are Not Museums
 |journal      = Exhibitionist
 |date         =Spring 2011
 |url          = http://name-aam.org/uploads/downloadables/EXH.spg_11/14%20EXH_spg11_Creationist%20Museums%20are%20not%20Museums_Jennings.pdf
 |access-date   = March 27, 2016
 |quote        = [T]heir assumption of the name 'museum' doesn't mean they are a new type of museum, or any type of museum, in my view. [...] The lack of valid connection with current worldwide thinking on their chosen discipline is why I maintain that creationist centers of display are not museums. [...] Creationist exhibition centers do not fall within any of the definitions for [[museum]]s given above, which have to do with human knowledge and experience.
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304024057/http://name-aam.org/uploads/downloadables/EXH.spg_11/14%20EXH_spg11_Creationist%20Museums%20are%20not%20Museums_Jennings.pdf
 |archive-date = March 4, 2016
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref>

==Background==
{{see also|Creation–evolution controversy}}
The Creation Museum portrays a literal interpretation of the creation narrative from the [[Book of Genesis]] in the Bible using [[creation science]], a [[Pseudoscience|pseudoscientific]] form of [[young Earth creationism]] (YEC).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Denny |first=Neil |date=2012-06-06 |title='We don't have to be afraid of the real evidence' – Creation Museum |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/jun/06/evidence-creation-museum |access-date=2025-07-30 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-02-09 |title=The Science of the Creation Museum |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-science-of-the-creation-museum/ |access-date=2025-07-30 |website=VICE |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Creation Museum Draws Scientific Fire |url=https://www.aps.org/archives/publications/apsnews/200707/creationmuseum.cfm |access-date=2025-07-30 |website=www.aps.org |language=en}}</ref> It is owned and operated by [[Answers in Genesis]] (AiG), a creation apologetics organization.<ref name=earthage>{{citation|url=http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/ap_050523_creation_museum.html |title=Museum Claims Earth is 6,000 Years Old |newspaper=Associated Press |date=May 23, 2005 |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212003726/http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/ap_050523_creation_museum.html |archive-date=December 12, 2007 }}<p>For more details on the scientific analysis, see: {{cite web|url=http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-evolution-timeline-interactive|title=Human Evolution Timeline – Interactive|publisher=Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History|access-date=September 2, 2016|date=January 28, 2010}}</p></ref> According to the AiG website, the purpose of the museum is to "exalt Jesus Christ as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer", to "equip Christians to better evangelize the lost", and to "challenge visitors to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord".<ref>{{citation|title=Creation Museum: about us|website=Creation Museum official web site|access-date=June 5, 2007|url=http://www.creationmuseum.org/about}}</ref> AiG founder [[Ken Ham]] said: "We're not out to convert people to believing in Intelligent Design. We're not out to convert people to ''not'' believe in evolution. And we're not out to just convert people to being Creationists. We're Christians."<ref name=trust>{{cite journal |last=Cohen |first=Jason |title=In Genesis They Trust |journal=Cincinnati |date=June 1, 2005 |url=http://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/cincinnatihistory/story.aspx?ID=1780720 |access-date=August 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928033149/http://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/cincinnatihistory/story.aspx?ID=1780720 |archive-date=September 28, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

YEC, the belief that the God of the Bible created the Universe and everything in it in six 24-hour days, approximately 6,000 years ago, contradicts the [[scientific consensus]] that the Earth is approximately 4.5&nbsp;billion years old and that living organisms come into being by descent from common ancestors through evolution.<ref name=earthage /> A ''[[The Sunday Independent (South Africa)|Sunday Independent]]'' columnist said in 2007 that "there are plenty of Americans ready to embrace Ham and support his museum", citing the fact that the $27&nbsp;million museum was entirely privately funded and citing a [[The Gallup Organization|Gallup]] public opinion poll showing widespread belief among Americans in biblical accounts of human origins.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Peter |date=2025-05-20 |title=Takeaways from AP's report on creationist beliefs 100 years after the Scopes trial |url=https://apnews.com/article/scopes-monkey-trial-creationism-today-takeaways-11778ece99b462aea59d8e45adbc6023 |access-date= |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref><ref name=sundayind>{{cite news |last=Usborne |first=David |title=Dragons in the Garden of Eden |newspaper=The Sunday Independent |date=August 26, 2007 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-168060007.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011162949/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-168060007.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 11, 2013 |access-date=October 4, 2013}} {{subscription required}}</ref><ref name="newport">{{cite web |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/155003/Hold-Creationist-View-Human-Origins.aspx |title=In U.S., 46% Hold Creationist View of Human Origins |last=Newport |first=Frank |publisher=[[The Gallup Organization|Gallup]] |date=June 1, 2012 }}</ref> A similar poll conducted by [[Pew Research Center]] in 2016 found that 35% of Americans agreed with the statement "humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time".<ref name=pew>{{cite web |last=Masci |first=David |title=On Darwin Day, 5 facts about the evolution debate |publisher=Pew Research Group |date=February 12, 2016 |url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/02/12/darwin-day/ |access-date=August 5, 2016}}</ref>

{{multiple image|align=center|total_width=450|image1=Creation Museum - Kentucky (6009852033).jpg|image2=Creation Museum Wrecking Ball.jpg|footer='''Displays at the Creation Museum present AiG's views of the world.''' ''Left:'' "7 C's in God's Eternal Plan": Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, Consummation. ''Right:'' A wrecking ball labeled "millions of years" smashing the brick foundation of a church to represent the abandonment of scripture in the modern world. Behind the ball is a Ken Ham mannequin pushing a wheelbarrow full of bricks, a metaphor for the work of AiG.<ref name=trust/>}}

==History==
From the time AiG was founded in [[Florence, Kentucky]], in 1994, the group's officials planned to open a museum and training center in the area.<ref name="createdebate">{{cite news|last = Eigelbach|first = Kevin|title = Creating Debate – Answers in Genesis Opens its Museum Monday as a Challenge to Darwinism|date = May 25, 2007|newspaper = The Kentucky Post|page = A1}}</ref> Ken Ham, a native of Australia, said that "Australia's not really the place to build such a facility if you're going to reach the world. Really, America is."<ref>Kim Landers, "[http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2007/s1936088.htm Museum promotes creationism]", AM, [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]], May 29, 2007.</ref> In a separate interview with ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'''s [[Paul Sheehan (journalist)|Paul Sheehan]], Ham explained, "One of the main reasons [AiG] moved [to Florence] was because we are within one hour's flight of 69 percent of America's population."<ref name="Sheehan">[[Paul Sheehan (journalist)|Paul Sheehan]], "[http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/01/16/1105810774805.html Onward the new Christian soldier]", ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'', [[Sydney, Australia]], January 17, 2005.</ref> The museum is located in Petersburg, Kentucky, {{convert|4|mi|km|}} west of the [[Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport]].<ref name=barbs>{{Cite news|last = Kreimer|first = Peggy|title = Creation Museum's Pitch Drawing Headlines, Barbs|newspaper = The Kentucky Post|date = February 4, 2005|page = K1}}</ref>

[[File:KenHam.JPG|thumb|left|upright|alt=Ken Ham's photo, showing a man with gray hair and a thin, gray beard|[[Ken Ham]], founder and executive director of [[Answers in Genesis]]]]
In 1996, AiG petitioned [[Boone County, Kentucky|Boone County]] to [[Zoning in the United States|rezone]] a tract of land near the [[Big Bone Lick State Park]] from agricultural to industrial use for the construction of the Creation Museum.<ref name=adam>{{cite news |title=Adam vs. the mastodons |newspaper=The Kentucky Post |date=August 31, 1996 |page=4K}}</ref> The county initially opposed the rezoning, citing in part potential conflicts with the fossil-rich state park.<ref name=denied>{{cite news |last=Mead |first=Andy |title=Rezoning Denied for Creationist Museum |newspaper=The Kentucky Post |date=December 11, 1996 |page=A1}}</ref> In 1999, newly elected [[Fiscal Court|commissioners]] approved the rezoning of an alternative {{convert|47|acre|ha}} site south of [[Interstate 275 (Ohio–Indiana–Kentucky)|Interstate 275]] to public facilities use, and allowed construction to go forward there.<ref>{{Cite news|title = County Alters Zoning for Creation Museum|agency = Associated Press|newspaper = Lexington Herald-Leader|date = May 9, 1999|page = B4}}</ref>

In May 2000, AiG purchased land for an undisclosed price and expected to begin construction in March 2001.<ref>{{Cite news|last = Wood|first = Roy|title = Genesis museum land in hand|newspaper = The Kentucky Post|date = May 5, 2000|page = 1K}}</ref> At the time, AiG planned a {{convert|30000|ft2|m2|adj=on}} museum, which they believed would cost {{USD}}14&nbsp;million and would open by mid-2002.<ref name="createdebate" /> After market research projected more visitors to the museum than AiG had initially anticipated, plans for the museum were altered, expanding it to {{convert|50000|ft2|m2}} and pushing the cost estimates to approximately {{USD}}25&nbsp;million<ref name="ontrack">{{cite news|last = Clark|first = Ryan|title = Creation Museum on track; $27M raised to finish center by May 28 opening, execs say|newspaper = The Cincinnati Enquirer|date = April 11, 2007|url = http://nky.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20070411/NEWS0103/704110405&nclick_check=1}}</ref> and later to {{USD}}27 million when more favorable visitor projections led them to add another {{convert|10000|ft2|m2}} to the museum.<ref name="ontrack" /> AiG staff moved into the Creation Museum's office space in late 2004.<ref name=barbs /> All funds for the museum were privately raised,<ref name="ontrack" /> and the organization received donated architectural and construction services.<ref>{{cite news|title = Creation museum architect named – Complex going up in Boone County|newspaper = The Kentucky Post|date = June 1, 2000|page = 2K}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last = Saladin|first = Luke E.|title = Answers in Genesis to hold open house on Saturday|newspaper = The Kentucky Post|date = May 31, 2001|page = 2K}}</ref>

===Opening===
<!------>
The Creation Museum opened on [[Memorial Day]], May 28, 2007. Approximately 4,000 patrons and 200 protesters visited the museum on opening day, and the event was covered by international media outlets.<ref name=debut>{{cite news |last=Kreimer |first=Peggy |title=AiG Museum Debuts – First Day Draws 4,000, Protesters |newspaper=The Kentucky Post |date=May 29, 2007 |page=A1}}</ref> The ''[[Orlando Sentinel]]'' wrote that the majority of the media coverage had a "mocking" undertone, similar to that found in reporting on the 2001 opening of [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]]'s [[Holy Land Experience]] theme park.<ref name=orlsent>{{cite news |last=Pinsky |first=Mark I. |title=Inherit the spin |newspaper=The Orlando Sentinel |date=June 10, 2007 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-164698998.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329145502/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-164698998.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 29, 2015 |access-date=October 7, 2013}}</ref>

Across the street from the museum, scientists, educators, students, and atheists protested at a "Rally for Reason" organized by [[Edwin Kagin]], the Kentucky state director of [[American Atheists]].<ref name=debut /> Kagin told the ''Kentucky Post'' that the purpose of the rally was to send a message that there are "plenty of people who don't agree with the so-called science of creationism."<ref name=debut /> [[The Reverend]] Mendle Adams, a protest participant, said, "my brothers and sisters in the faith who embrace [the creationist] understanding call into question the whole Christian concept" and "make us a laughing stock".<ref name="Huntington">Doug Huntington, "[http://www.christianpost.com/news/protests-planned-for-grand-opening-of-creation-museum-27114/ Protests Planned for Grand Opening of Creation Museum]", ''[[The Christian Post]]'', April 27, 2007.</ref>

The Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau used the museum's opening as part of their overall strategy to attract religious group conventions, which accounted for significant amounts of visitor spending in the area.<ref name=paeth2>{{cite news |last=Paeth |first=Greg |title=Creating a Tourist Draw – Museum May Help Attract Conventions |newspaper=The Kentucky Post |date=March 9, 2007 |page=A1}}</ref><ref name=geist>{{cite news |last=Geist |first=Kellie |title=Visitors Spend More Money in N.Ky. |newspaper=The Kentucky Post |date=March 19, 2008 |page=Web Edition}}</ref>

In October 2007, the Kentucky Department of Transportation erected four signs along highways near the museum bearing Kentucky's "Unbridled Spirit" logo and directing motorists to the museum's location, prompting concern from some residents about the [[Separation of church and state in the United States|separation of church and state]].<ref name=roadsigns>{{cite news |last=Eigelbach |first=Kevin |title=State Erected Signs for AiG Museum |newspaper=The Cincinnati Post |date=October 11, 2007 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-169770372.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329145450/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-169770372.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 29, 2015 |access-date=October 7, 2007}}</ref> ''The Cincinnati Post'' reported that AiG paid $5,000 each for the signs, which are available to any "cultural, historical, recreational, agricultural, educational or entertainment center".<ref name=roadsigns /> The ''Post'' quoted [[Barry W. Lynn]], executive director of [[Americans United for Separation of Church and State]], as saying it was a "close call" as to whether the signs violated the separation of church and state.<ref name=roadsigns />

===Expansion===
In April 2016, the Boone County Fiscal Court approved a development plan that will add a three-level, {{Convert|210000|ft2|m2|adj=on}} museum building, among other expansions that will total between $15&nbsp;million to $20&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web | last1=Hansel | first1=Mark | title=Boone County Fiscal Court Approves Expansion of Creation Museum in Petersburg Despite Opposition | url=http://www.nkytribune.com/2016/04/boone-county-fiscal-court-approves-expansion-of-creation-museum-in-petersburg-despite-opposition/ | date=April 6, 2016 | website=nkytribune.com | access-date=April 12, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Pool | first1=Taylor | title=County Approves Expansion of Creation Museum | url=https://answersingenesis.org/ministry-news/creation-museum/county-approves-expansion-of-creation-museum/ | date=April 8, 2016 | publisher=Answers in Genesis | access-date=April 12, 2016}}</ref>

In November 2019, the Creation Museum opened a $3&nbsp;million expansion which includes a 4D theater and a large area with several exhibits.<ref>{{cite web |title=New exhibits at Creation Museum; $5.5M upgrades include 4D theater, planetarium under construction |url=https://www.nkytribune.com/2019/11/new-exhibits-at-creation-museum-5-5m-upgrades-include-4d-theater-planetarium-under-construction/ |website=Northern Kentucky Tribune |access-date=February 26, 2020}}</ref>

In October 2021, the Creation Museum announced plans to refurbish the Legacy Hall auditorium and create the Eden Teaching Center, an addition to the museum's animal space and petting zoo which will include a new animal facility, conservatory and greenhouses, classroom, and interactive dig site.<ref>{{cite web |title=Creation Museum, Ark Encounter to undergo upgrades, expansions |url=https://www.wlwt.com/article/creation-museum-ark-encounter-to-undergo-upgrades-expansions/37975680 |access-date=24 December 2021}}</ref>

===Attendance===
AiG had projected that the museum would have 250,000 visitors in its first year of operation, but officials said that number was achieved in just over five months.<ref name=250K>{{cite news |title=Creation Museum hits 250K visitors |newspaper=The Cincinnati Enquirer |date=November 3, 2007 |url=http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20071103/NEWS0103/711030409/ |access-date=July 22, 2013}}</ref> In its first year of operation, 404,000 people visited the Creation Museum.<ref name="attendancedown">{{cite news|last = McNair|first = James|title = Creation Museum Attendance Drops for Fourth Straight Year|newspaper = Cincinnati CityBeat|date = November 7, 2012|url = http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-26546-creation_museum_atte.html|access-date = July 30, 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121113213609/http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/article-26546-creation_museum_atte.html|archive-date = November 13, 2012|url-status = dead}}</ref> In 2012, ''[[Cincinnati CityBeat]]'' reported that, from July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012, Museum attendance had dropped to 254,074, a 10 percent drop from the previous year and the fourth straight year of declining attendance.<ref name="attendancedown" /> AiG officials cited the [[Great Recession in the United States|poor economy]] and high gas prices as reasons for the decline.<ref name="attendancedown" /> By mid-2015, 2.4&nbsp;million people (about 300,000 visitors average over 8 years) had visited the museum.<ref name=racm13>{{cite book |last1=Trollinger |first1=Susan L. | last2=Trollinger | first2=William Vance Jr. |title=Righting America at the Creation Museum |publisher=JHU Press |year=2016 |isbn=9781421419534 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lOf-CwAAQBAJ |page=13}}</ref>

In 2016 [[Slate.com]] reported that public schools were taking students on field trips to the museum, citing planned or completed trips to the museum by schools in Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.<ref name=slateft>{{cite web |last=Kopplin |first=Zack |title=A Day With Ken Ham |publisher=Slate.com |date=April 25, 2016 |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2016/04/public_schools_are_visiting_ken_ham_s_creation_museum.html |access-date=June 20, 2016}}</ref> The [[Freedom From Religion Foundation]] (FFRF) wrote letters to the schools in question, demanding that the trips be cancelled, or in cases where they had already occurred, not be repeated.<ref name=ffrfft>{{cite news|url=http://www.onenewsnow.com/education/2016/05/19/angry-atheists-bluffing-schools-says-ham|title=Angry atheists bluffing schools, says Ham|first=Bob|last=Kellogg|publisher=One News Now|date=May 19, 2016|access-date=June 21, 2016|archive-date=October 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028050431/https://onenewsnow.com/education/2016/05/19/angry-atheists-bluffing-schools-says-ham|url-status=dead}}</ref> In July 2016, in response to FFRF's letters to schools, Ham posted on his blog that student groups would be admitted at $1 per child and no charge for accompanying teachers."<ref name=$1>{{cite news|first=Linda|last=Blackford|url=http://www.kentucky.com/news/local/education/article89557642.html|title=Ark park offers $1 admission to public school kids after field-trip warning|newspaper=Lexington Herald Leader|date=July 14, 2016}}</ref>

In 2017, AiG reported that in the year since its other attraction, the [[Ark Encounter]], opened, the Creation Museum saw over 800,000 visitors, nearly triple the annual average of 300,000 visitors.<ref>{{cite news | last1=Wartman | first1=Scott | title=Creationist Parks Still a Potent Draw for Visitors and Controversy | url=http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2017/07/07/creationist-parks-still-potent-draw-visitors-controversy/425293001/ | date=July 7, 2017 | newspaper=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]] | access-date=July 9, 2017 | quote=Answers in Genesis, the nonprofit ministry that operates both the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter, claims the Creation Museum has averaged 300,000 visitors a year since it opened in 2007. More than 800,000 have come since the Ark Encounter opened last year, said Ken Ham, founder of Answers in Genesis, based in Petersburg in Boone County. But there's no way to fact check these claims since AiG is a private organization.}}</ref> In April 2021, the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter welcomed their 10 millionth visitor altogether.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://grouptravelleader.com/articles/ark-encounter-creation-museum-pass-10-million-mark/
|title = Ark Encounter & Creation Museum Pass 10 Million Mark
|author = Group Travel Family
|publisher= Group Travel Leader
|date = 2022-05-03
|accessdate=2023-07-02}}</ref>

==Collection==
The Creation Museum proper encompasses {{convert|75000|ft2|m2}}.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://creationmuseum.org/
|title= Creation Museum: Prepare to Believe
|quote=The state-of-the-art 75,000-square-foot museum
}}</ref> In the museum's [[planetarium]], visitors view a presentation written by AiG's staff astrophysicist that presents [[creationist cosmologies]] as alternatives to the [[Big Bang theory]] of the origins of the Universe.<ref name=duncan>{{cite book |last=Duncan |first=Julie Ann |title=Faith Displayed As Science: The Role of the "Creation Museum" in the Modern American Creationist Movement |publisher=Harvard University |date=March 2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wUKPx0JzA3QC |access-date=August 5, 2013}}</ref> The planetarium underwent a $1.2 million renovation in 2020 while the museum was closed due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]]; the renovations expanded the planetarium's capacity, upgraded its display equipment, and improved its acoustics.<ref name=refurbplanetarium>{{cite news |title=Refurbished planetarium awaits Creation Museum visitors |newspaper=The Sentinel Echo |location=London, KY |date=June 9, 2020}}</ref> In the 200-seat theater—which features special effects such as seats that vibrate and jets that spray the audience with mist—a film depicts two [[angelic beings]] who proclaim, "God loves science!"<ref name=createdebate /><ref name=inhand>{{cite news|last=Driehaus|first=Bob|title=Creation Museum Expects Permits, Financing Will be in Hand Soon|newspaper=The Kentucky Post|date=January 5, 2002|page=1K}}</ref> The museum also includes a restaurant and a medieval-themed gift shop. Outside the main structure are walking trails and a {{convert|5|acre|km2|adj=on}} lake.<ref name="createdebate" />

[[File:15 23 1161 creation museum.jpg|thumb|A collection of butterflies and moths is an example of real specimens on display, as opposed to the animatronic "Dr. Crawley" character that accompanies the butterfly display.]]
Patrick Marsh, who designed the ''[[Jaws (ride)|Jaws]]'' and ''King Kong'' attractions at [[Universal Studios Florida]], led the design of the exhibits for the Creation Museum.<ref name="NYT3" /> [[Kurt Wise]] was hired as scientific consultant and also played a major role in designing the exhibits, including the 52 professionally made videos.<ref name=heaton>Timothy H. Heaton. "[http://ncse.com/rncse/27/1-2/visit-to-new-creation-museum A Visit to the New Creation 'Museum']." ''Reports of the National Center for Science Education''. 27 (1–2): 21–24.</ref> In 2009, AiG added an exhibit about [[natural selection]], featuring models of finches, which [[Charles Darwin]] observed before proposing the theory of evolution in 1859.<ref name="darwin">{{Cite news|last = Lovan|first = Dylan T.|title = Creation Museum suggests Darwin got something right – has new exhibit on natural selection|newspaper = Lexington Herald-Leader|date = March 18, 2009|page = D5}}</ref> A 2013 expansion project added a lobby display suggesting that ancient stories of monsters and dragons may have been accounts of human encounters with dinosaurs.<ref name=2013expand>{{cite news |last=Lovan |first=Dylan |title=Creation Museum adds zip lines, bug exhibit – After 6 years, it was time to expand |newspaper=Lexington Herald-Leader |date=August 12, 2013 |page=A3}}</ref> An animatronic character depicting a science professor in a research lab, dubbed "Dr. Crawley", tells visitors that, due to the variation and complexity of bug species, they could not have evolved naturally but must have been created by God.<ref name=2013expand /><ref name=Lovan/>

[[File:Creation Museum Allosaurus skeleton.jpg|thumb|upright|left|"Ebenezer", the ''Allosaurus'' skeleton represents AiG's mission to "take the dinosaurs back [from the evolutionists]".<ref name="pseudosaurs">{{cite news|title=Pseudosaurs caught in dino fight|newspaper=The Kansas City Star|date=September 11, 2005|page=A5}}</ref>]]
Dinosaurs are prominently featured in many areas of the museum. Prior to the museum's opening, Ham stated, "We're putting evolutionists on notice: We're taking the dinosaurs back... They're used to teach people that there's no God, and they're used to brainwash people. Evolutionists get very upset when we use dinosaurs."<ref name="pseudosaurs"/> While some of the museum's dinosaur models are animatronic, many were sculpted from fiberglass by a [[taxidermy|taxidermist]].<ref name=dinobillboards>{{cite news|last=Lovan|first=Dylan|title=Creation Museum targeting dinosaur fans – National Billboard Campaign in 25 states|newspaper=Lexington Herald-Leader|date=June 13, 2012|page=A3}}</ref><ref name=Fleishman>{{cite news|last=Fleishman|first=Jeffery|title=A Case for Creationism?|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=June 13, 1996|page=C01}}</ref> Near the museum's lobby, a diorama depicts two ancient-age children playing near a stream, unmolested by nearby dinosaurs.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lovan|first=Dylan T.|title=Creation Museum: Dinosaurs used to tell Earth's brief history|newspaper=The Henderson Gleaner|date=May 26, 2007}}</ref>

Since 2014, the museum has displayed the skeleton of a {{convert|30|ft|m}} long, {{convert|10|ft|m}} wide ''[[Allosaurus]] fragilis'' dubbed "Ebenezer".<ref name=ebenezer>{{cite news|last=Johnston|first=John|title=Creation Museum acquires a dinosaur|newspaper=The Messenger-Inquirer|date=May 24, 2014}}</ref> Over half of the skeleton, including a nearly-complete {{convert|3|ft|m}} long skull with 53 teeth, was recovered from the northern [[Colorado]] portion of [[Morrison Formation]].<ref name=ebenezer /><ref name=ohlheiser>{{cite news|last=Ohlheiser|first=Abby|title=Why the Creation Museum Is So Excited About Ebenezer, Its New Dinosaur Skeleton|agency=The Wire|date=May 23, 2014}}</ref> The Elizabeth Streb Peroutka Foundation of [[Pasadena, Maryland]], purchased the skeleton and donated it to the museum, and AiG paid an anonymous expert based in [[Utah]] to restore it before displaying it.<ref name=ebenezer /><ref name=ohlheiser /> The skeleton is presented as evidence of Noah's Flood.<ref>{{cite web |title=Allosaurus—A Creationist's Best Friend |url=https://answersingenesis.org/dinosaurs/when-did-dinosaurs-live/allosaurus-creationists-best-friend/ |access-date=August 21, 2019}}</ref> In 2021, Brian William Delafayette was [[indictment|indicted]] for making a bomb threat after posting on an AiG-affiliated web page that a bomb had been planted under the ''Allosaurus'' display at the museum; no bomb was found at the site.<ref name=bombindict>{{cite news |last=Eads |first=Morgan |title=Man accused of making false bomb threat to Creation Museum |newspaper=Lexington Herald-Leader |date=May 20, 2021 |page=4A}}</ref>

The museum is also critical of evolutionary theory that links dinosaurs with [[bird evolution]]. The second room of the Creation Museum, for example, displays a model prehistoric ''[[Utahraptor]]'', stating that the species was featherless and had no connection to birds, referring to Genesis 1, which states that birds were created before the advent of land animals.<ref name="if_dino">[http://answersingenesis.org/museum/docs2005/0523dinosaurs.asp If dinosaurs could talk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050525011842/http://answersingenesis.org/museum/docs2005/0523dinosaurs.asp |date=May 25, 2005 }}, Michael Matthews, [[Answers in Genesis]], Accessed May 26, 2007.</ref>

==Visitor experience==
Visitors to the museum follow a sequential series of rooms.<ref name="hyperreality"/> Casey Kelly and Kristen Hoerl explain that "the museum constructs an argument chain in which claims from previous rooms provide support for subsequent claims".<ref name=hyperreality /> The first room in the sequence contains a diorama of two paleontologists uncovering the skeletal remains of an indistinct creature.<ref name=hyperreality /> Two actors meant to represent the paleontologists are displayed on television screens mounted nearby; one explains that he believes that the creature died in a local flood millions of years earlier, while the other surmises that the creature died in the biblical [[flood myth|Great Flood]] about 4,300 years earlier.<ref name=hyperreality /> This room is immediately followed by a second room of placards explaining various natural phenomena using two distinct "starting points"—mainstream science and the biblical narrative.<ref name=hyperreality /> From here, visitors enter an L-shaped corridor that begins with mannequins representing the [[Old Testament]] prophets [[Moses]], [[David]], and [[Isaiah]], while audio recordings of passages from the [[Psalms|Book of Psalms]] are played nearby.<ref name=hyperreality /> Further down the corridor, placards detail historical arguments against a literal interpretation of the Bible and conclude that "The elevation of human reason above God's word is the essence of every attack on God's word."<ref name=hyperreality /> The walls near the corridor's exit contain [[Existentialism|existentialist]] questions such as "Am I alone?", and "Why do I suffer?", paired with illustrations of human conflict and suffering.<ref name=hyperreality />

[[File:15 23 1110 creation museum.jpg|thumb|left|A display representing urban decay]]
After leaving the corridor, visitors enter a room designed to resemble a decaying urban alley full of graffiti and littered with newspaper clippings about the legalization of abortion, same-sex marriage, and [[euthanasia]].<ref name=hyperreality /> An accompanying placard concludes: "Scripture abandoned in the culture leads to... relative morality, hopelessness and meaninglessness."<ref name=hyperreality /> In the final room in this series, video screens depict the purported results of abandoning a literal interpretation of the Bible.<ref name=hyperreality /> In one, a teenage girl is on the phone with an abortion clinic.<ref name=duncan /> In another, a teenage boy rolls a [[Joint (cannabis)|joint]] while staring at a computer screen; a narrator informs the viewer that the boy is looking at pornography.<ref name=duncan /> In the center of the room, a wrecking ball labeled "Millions of Years" damages the foundation of a church building.<ref name="trust"/> Nearby stands a Ken Ham mannequin pushing a wheelbarrow full of bricks, symbolizing the reparative work of AiG.<ref name=trust />

The second series of rooms depict a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis, arranged around the concept of "The Seven C's in God's Eternal Plan": [[Genesis creation narrative|creation]], [[Fall of man|corruption]], [[Genesis flood narrative|catastrophe]], [[Tower of Babel|confusion]], [[Jesus|Christ]], [[Crucifixion|cross]], and [[Rapture|consummation]].<ref name=hyperreality /> At the entrance to this area, a flat panel television displays a computer-generated imagery (CGI) animation of millions of particles converging to create an adult human male, the biblical [[Adam]].<ref name=hyperreality /> Subsequent creation dioramas show Adam naming animals in the [[Garden of Eden]] and [[Eve]] being created from Adam's rib.<ref name="salon">{{cite news|url = http://www.salon.com/2007/05/31/creation_museum/|title = Inside the Creation Museum|date = May 31, 2007|access-date = July 30, 2013|work = Salon.com|last = Slack|first = Gordy}}</ref> Accompanying placards maintain that the special creation of Adam and Eve conveys God's desire for families to consist only of opposite-sex couples and their offspring.<ref name=duncan />

The exhibit on corruption shows Adam and Eve eating the fruit of the [[tree of the knowledge of good and evil]], resulting in the [[fall of man]].<ref name="salon" /> Further exhibits depict the aftermath of this event: animals being killed to make garments for Adam and Eve, [[Cain and Abel|Cain killing Abel]], and [[Methuselah]] warning of God's coming judgment.<ref name="salon" /><ref>{{cite news|last = Slevin|first = Peter|title = A "creationist Disneyland"|newspaper = The Washington Post|date = May 27, 2007|page = A8}}</ref> Black-and-white photographs also show examples of modern suffering, such as the [[Holocaust]] and the explosion of an atomic bomb.<ref name=duncan /> According to accompanying placards, after the fall, some animals became meat-eaters, and competition for resources drove some creatures to extinction.<ref name=duncan /> An April 2006 report in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' noted that this area also features noxious odors and increased temperatures, and AiG general manager Mike Zovath told the paper that the intent was to make it "the most uncomfortable place in the museum to show how original sin has corrupted the universe".<ref name=chitrib>{{cite news |last=Anderson |first=Lisa |title=Genesis of a museum: Creationists, saying all the answers are in the Bible, put their beliefs on display in $25 million facility |newspaper=The Chicago Tribune |date=April 25, 2006 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-144925984.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011162904/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-144925984.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 11, 2013 |access-date=October 3, 2013}}</ref>

The "catastrophe", an allusion to the Great Flood recounted in Genesis chapters 6 through 9, is represented by animatronic figures constructing [[Noah's Ark]] and an interactive exhibit that allows visitors to select frequently asked questions about Noah's Ark and have them answered audibly by an animatronic Noah.<ref name=hyperreality /><ref name="salon" /> Kelly and Hoerl describe the interactive Noah as "remarkable", noting: "Noah is imbued with human affect and individuality, including complex physical features and detailed bodily movements; his speech patterns, facial expressions, and bodily gestures are in near-perfect sync with his eye, mouth, and head movements; and his hair, skin tone, and musculature closely imitates real human features."<ref name=hyperreality /> The catastrophe displays are further enhanced by CGI animations of the Great Flood covering the Earth as observed from both outer space and a period-specific settlement.<ref name=hyperreality />

The post-flood world is presented in the next room as a time when man began to rely solely on human reasoning, resulting in "confusion".<ref name=duncan /> Displays argue that dependence on human reasoning leads to racism and [[genocide]], with one sign bearing a quote from [[Stephen Jay Gould]] noting that racism increased exponentially following the acceptance of the theory of evolution.<ref name=duncan /> A diorama claims that the [[Tower of Babel]] explains the dispersal of people after the flood and the rapid divergence of languages during that period.<ref name=duncan /><ref name="salon" />

The final three C's—Christ, cross, and consummation—are presented in a single room where visitors wait before entering a theater to view ''The Last Adam'', a film where actors representing [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary, the mother of Jesus]], and an unnamed Roman soldier describe their experiences during the [[crucifixion of Jesus]].<ref name=duncan /> After the Seven C's area, a video introduces the next section of the museum by stating that "Scientists are developing a series of models to explain how the Flood and its aftermath could have shaped the world today."<ref name=hyperreality /> Large fossils displayed in glass cases are purported to have been formed as a result of the Great Flood.<ref name="inhand" /> Large placards illustrate geological models developed by creation scientists at AiG, the [[Discovery Institute]], and the [[Institute for Creation Research]].<ref name=hyperreality />

The tour continues in the "Dinosaur Den", which contains models of dinosaurs with attached signage explaining their lives from the YEC viewpoint.<ref name=hyperreality /> The Dragon Theater, the last exhibit space on tour, posits the relatively recent extinction of dinosaurs and speculates that [[Middle Ages|Medieval]] dragon legends may have been inspired by actual encounters with dinosaurs.<ref name=hyperreality /> Visitors exit the tour through the museum's gift shop, which contains both souvenirs and AiG print and multimedia publications.<ref name=duncan />
{{Multiple image|align=center|total_width=800|footer='''Representations of biblical scenes in the museum'''|footer_align=center|caption_align=center|image1=15 23 1113 creation museum.jpg|caption1="Working the Ground"|height1=1367|width1=2048|image2=15 23 1116 creation museum.jpg|caption2=Cain and Abel|height2=1367|width2=2048|image3=15 23 1119 creation museum.jpg|caption3=Interior of Noah's ark|height3=1368|width3=2048|image4=15 23 1128 creation museum.jpg|caption4=Tower of Babel|height4=1367|width4=2048|image5=17 14 304 creation museum.jpg|caption5=Adam naming the animals|height5=1367|width5=2048}}

==Programs and events==
[[File:BillNyeSG.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bill Nye]] debated with Ken Ham on February 4, 2014.]]
In addition to exhibits, the museum hosts a variety of special programs and events. Many focus on creationist concepts or more broadly on Christian themes and teachings.<ref name=cmevents>{{Cite web|url=http://creationmuseum.org/events/programs/|title=Special Programs|publisher=Creation Museum|access-date=August 16, 2014}}</ref> Some of the museum's events have met with controversy. In December 2008, the [[Cincinnati Zoo]] discontinued a cross-promotion it had planned with the Creation Museum after offering the deal for less than three days, citing "numerous complaints".<ref name=zoopromote>{{cite news |title=Zoo ends museum partnership |newspaper=National Catholic Reporter |date=December 12, 2008 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-191315946.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610050443/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-191315946.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 10, 2014 |access-date=October 13, 2013}}</ref>

In February 2011, the museum denied a same-sex couple entry to its after-hours "Date Night". It refused to reimburse the cost of their tickets (about {{USD|70}}), stating it was clear from the advertisements that the event was about Christian marriage, which is between a man and a woman, and that one of the men had made a statement in a blog post a month earlier that gave the museum the impression that the couple was planning to be disruptive. The blog requested donations to send a "flamboyantly gay" couple to the event. Later one of the men admitted he wasn't gay and said that he was curious to see if the museum would let them in.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.wcsh6.com/news/national/story.aspx?storyid=148895&catid=45|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130205220022/http://www.wcsh6.com/news/national/story.aspx?storyid=148895&catid=45|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 5, 2013|publisher=NBC News, via WCSH|title=Museum visitors claim they were turned away because security guard thought they were gay|date=February 22, 2011|access-date=August 13, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/2011-02-22-creation-gay-marriage-21__N.htm|title=Gay couple shut out of Creation Museum date night|first=Mark|last=Hansel|newspaper=USA Today|date=February 22, 2011|access-date=August 13, 2014}}</ref>

===Bill Nye debate===
{{main|Bill Nye–Ken Ham debate}}
The Bill Nye–Ken Ham debate was one of the most publicized events at the museum. It took place in February 2014, and featured a debate between Ken Ham and [[Bill Nye]], a science educator known for the television series ''[[Bill Nye the Science Guy]]''. Ham challenged Nye to come to the museum to debate YEC and whether creationism is a viable model of origins. [[CNN]]'s [[Tom Foreman]] moderated the debate.<ref name=redlands>{{cite news |last=Poulisse |first=Adam |title=Evolution vs. Creation: Bill Nye, Ken Ham Debate the Origins of Life |newspaper=[[Redlands Daily Facts]] |date=February 5, 2014 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-35661051.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611131744/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-35661051.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 11, 2014}}</ref> The museum's 900-seat Legacy Hall was sold out within minutes of tickets going on sale.<ref name=wapo>{{cite news |last=Winston |first=Kimberly |title=Ham-on-Nye debate pits atheists, creationists |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=January 30, 2014 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/ham-on-nye-debate-pits-atheists-creationists/2014/01/30/140d58ee-89ec-11e3-a760-a86415d0944d_story.html |access-date=February 12, 2014}}</ref> It was estimated that nearly 3 million people viewed the debate online<ref name=zaimov>{{cite news |last=Zaimov |first=Stoyan |title=Bill Nye, Ken Ham Discuss Humans and Dinosaurs With Piers Morgan; Reactions to Creationist Debate |magazine=[[Christian Post]] |date=February 5, 2014 |url=http://global.christianpost.com/news/bill-nye-ken-ham-discuss-humans-and-dinosaurs-with-piers-morgan-reactions-to-creationist-debate-114043/ |access-date=February 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305151507/http://global.christianpost.com/news/bill-nye-ken-ham-discuss-humans-and-dinosaurs-with-piers-morgan-reactions-to-creationist-debate-114043/ |archive-date=March 5, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[C-SPAN]] rebroadcast the debate on February 19.<ref name=media>{{cite news |last=Zaimov |first=Stoyan |title=Bill Nye, Ken Ham Creationism Debate Preview: Mass Media Coverage Surrounding Event |magazine=[[Christian Post]] |date=February 4, 2014 |url=http://global.christianpost.com/news/bill-nye-ken-ham-creationism-debate-preview-mass-media-coverage-surrounding-event-113968/ |access-date=February 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504140028/http://global.christianpost.com/news/bill-nye-ken-ham-creationism-debate-preview-mass-media-coverage-surrounding-event-113968/ |archive-date=May 4, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Publicity generated by the debate spurred fundraising for AiG, allowing construction to begin on the [[Ark Encounter]], an AiG theme park intended to center on a full-scale interpretation of Noah's Ark.<ref name=arkpark>{{cite news |title=Noah's Ark Project Spurred by Evolution Debate |newspaper=The Gazette |date=February 27, 2014 |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1P2-35743340}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

==Reactions==

===Reviews===
The museum is controversial and has received much criticism from the scientific and religious communities, as well as cultural commentators.<ref>{{cite news |last=Jarman |first=Josh |date=May 25, 2007 |title=Creating a stir |url=http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/faith_and_values/2007/05/25/creation.ART_ART_05-25-07_B6_5J6Q39G.html |newspaper=[[The Columbus Dispatch]] |location=Columbus, OH |publisher=Dispatch Printing Company |access-date=October 7, 2014 |archive-date=December 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227133149/https://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/faith_and_values/2007/05/25/creation.ART_ART_05-25-07_B6_5J6Q39G.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Lovan |first=Dylan T. |date=May 19, 2007 |title=Educators question Creation Museum |url=http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2007/05/19/met_129149.shtml |newspaper=[[The Augusta Chronicle]] |location=Augusta, GA |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=October 7, 2014}}</ref> In her 2013 book, ''Sensational Devotion: Evangelical Performance in Twenty-First Century America'', Jill Stevenson, an associate professor of theatre arts at [[Marymount Manhattan College]], wrote that "The Creation Museum prompts more questions from friends and colleagues than any of the other venues I examine in this book. It is not simply the museum's anti-evolution message that fascinates people. Even more compelling is how the Creation Museum actually conveys that message. By coupling the physical form of a traditional natural history museum with a radical community-based agenda, the Creation Museum empowers and gives public voice to a community that perceives itself as threatened, disenfranchised, and misrepresented by mainstream culture."<ref name=JStevenson>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H6FbD_Tl-GYC&q=aa+gill+creation+museum&pg=PA268|title=Sensational Devotion: Evangelical Performance in Twenty-First Century America|first=Jill|last=Stevenson|publisher=University of Michigan Press|date=2013|isbn=9780472118731|page=128|access-date=August 19, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mmm.edu/live/profiles/50-jill-stevenson|title=Jill Stevenson|publisher=Manhattan Marymount College|access-date=August 19, 2014}}</ref>

In the introduction to their 2016 book ''Righting America at the Creation Museum'', Susan and William Trollinger noted: "the Creation Museum lies squarely within the right side of the American cultural, political, and religious mainstream... it represents and speaks to the religious and political commitments of a large swath of the American population."<ref name=racm1-2>{{cite book |last1=Trollinger |first1=Susan L. | last2=Trollinger | first2=William Vance Jr. |title=Righting America at the Creation Museum |publisher=JHU Press |year=2016 |isbn=9781421419534 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lOf-CwAAQBAJ |pages=1–2}}</ref> Jonathan Gitlin, reviewing the museum for ''[[Ars Technica]]'' in 2007, said the museum's displays were "on a par with the better modern museums I've been to". He added that the museum was "designed for a fundamentalist Christian crowd" and was "no friend to those who do not hold to its creationist tenets", also containing "what can only be described as a house of horrors about the dangers of abortion and drugs and the devil's music".<ref name=arstechica>{{cite web |last=Gitlin |first=Jonathan M. |title=Ars takes a field trip: the Creation Museum |website=Ars Technica |date=June 7, 2007 |url=https://arstechnica.com/features/2007/06/ars-takes-a-field-trip-the-creation-museum/ |access-date=June 20, 2016}}</ref> Trollinger and Trollinger called the museum "an impressive and sophisticated visual argument on behalf of young Earth creationism and a highly politicized fundamentalism".<ref name=racm13 /> [[Hemant Mehta]] has said that the "layout at the Creation Museum really is beautiful. However, the quality of information is worthless, which makes the 'museum' nothing more than an expensive way to confuse and indoctrinate children."<ref name=Lovan>{{Cite news|url=http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/creationist-museum-aims-at-wider-audience/nZLpj/|title=Creationist museum aims at wider audience|first=Dylan|last=Lovan|newspaper=Dayton Daily News|date=August 11, 2013}}</ref>

[[A. A. Gill]], a British writer and critic, described the museum as "battling science and reason since 2007", writing: "This place doesn't just take on evolution – it squares off with geology, anthropology, paleontology, history, chemistry, astronomy, zoology, biology, and good taste. It directly and boldly contradicts most -onomies and all -ologies, including most theology."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gill |first=A. A. |author-link=A. A. Gill |date=February 2010 |title=Roll Over, Charles Darwin! |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/02/creation-museum-201002 |journal=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |issn=0733-8899 |access-date=November 30, 2012}}</ref> Lisa Park, a professor of paleontology at [[University of Akron]] said, "I think it's very bad science and even worse theology... and the theology is far more offensive to me. I think there's a lot of focus on fear, and I don't think that's a very Christian message... I find it a malicious manipulation of the public."<ref name="Tears">{{cite news | date = June 30, 2009 | title = Paleontologists brought to tears, laughter by Creation Museum | work = [[Yahoo]] News | url =   https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jiVuN2BMp6tmuGBGOedALIY4_FaA| archive-url =   https://web.archive.org/web/20090706133856/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jiVuN2BMp6tmuGBGOedALIY4_FaA| url-status =   dead| archive-date =   July 6, 2009| access-date = July 1, 2009}}</ref>

The Creation Museum's promotion of YEC has garnered criticism from individuals who adhere to old Earth creationism or theistic evolution. In a press kit released in connection with the Creation Museum's opening, geologist Greg Neyman, founder of Old Earth Ministries, wrote that "The non-Christians (...) will see the museum, and recognize its faulty science, and will be turned away from the church."<ref name=NCSE /> [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] theologian [[John F. Haught|John Haught]], a theistic evolutionist, said, "It's theologically problematic to me, as well as scientifically problematic" and that the museum would cause an "impoverishment" of religion.<ref>{{cite web|first=Adelle M.|last=Banks|url=http://www.beliefnet.com/News/Science-Religion/2007/06/New-Museum-Says-Creation-Science-Go-Hand-In-Hand.aspx|title=New Museum Says Creation, Science Go Hand-in-Hand|access-date=June 1, 2007}}</ref> Theistic evolutionist Michael Patrick Leahy, editor of the online magazine ''Christian Faith and Reason'', said that the museum "undermines the credibility of all Christians".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081206180333/http://www.christianfaithandreason.com/june_fredandwilma.html ''The Trouble with Fred and Wilma: Why the Creation Museum is Bad for Christians''], Michael Patrick Leahy, Christian Faith and Reason, May 24, 2007.</ref>

In his review of the museum for ''[[The New York Times]]'', columnist [[Edward Rothstein]] wrote, "It is a measure of the museum's daring that dinosaurs and fossils—once considered major challenges to belief in the Bible's creation story—are here so central, appearing not as tests of faith, as one religious authority once surmised, but as creatures no different from the giraffes and cats that still walk the earth."<ref name="NYT3">[[Edward Rothstein]], "[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/24/arts/24crea.html Adam and Eve in the Land of the Dinosaurs]", ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 24, 2007.</ref> Authors Casey Kelly and Kristen Hoerl wrote that "By adopting the formal structure of the nature and science museum, including the display of dinosaur fossils, the Creation Museum provides a site where young-Earth creationists can take their children to "see the dinosaurs" without compromising their beliefs."<ref name=hyperreality />

===Criticism===
Before the museum's opening, about 2,000 educators signed a statement written by the [[Campaign to Defend the Constitution]] (DefCon) calling the museum part of a "campaign by the religious right to inject creationist teachings into [[science education]]".<ref name=defcon>{{cite news |last=Lovan |first=Dylan T. |title=Educators skeptical of Ky. bible-based museum |newspaper=The Charleston (WV) Gazette |date=May 19, 2007 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-13956353.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131011162851/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-13956353.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 11, 2013 |access-date=October 3, 2013}}</ref> The [[National Center for Science Education]] collected over 800 signatures from scientists in the three states closest to the museum ([[Kentucky]], [[Indiana]], and [[Ohio]]) on a statement calling the museum's exhibits "scientifically inaccurate materials" and expressing concerns that students who accept its premises as scientifically valid would be "unlikely to succeed in science courses at the college level".<ref name="NCSE">[http://ncse.com/news/2007/05/reactions-to-creation-museum-001073 Reactions to creation "museum"]. Accessed November 4, 2008.</ref> [[Lawrence M. Krauss|Lawrence Krauss]], who signed the DefCon statement; [[Eugenie Scott]], executive director of NCSE; and [[Alan I. Leshner|Alan Leshner]], chief executive officer of the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]], each told the [[Associated Press]] (AP) that AiG was within its rights to open the museum, but expressed concerns about its effects on science education.<ref name=defcon /> Leshner said, "We're not talking about free speech. We would not protest the museum. However, we are concerned that we not mislead young people inadvertently or intentionally about what science is showing."<ref name=defcon /> Krauss has called on media, educators, and government officials to shun the museum and says that its view is based on falsehoods.<ref>[[Lawrence Krauss]]. "[https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19426054.700-the-creationist-museum-of-misinformation.html The creationist museum of misinformation]". ''NewScientist.com''. May 23, 2007.</ref>

Dinosaurs were featured prominently in AiG's 2012 billboard advertising campaign, which targeted metropolitan areas in 25 states.<ref name=dinobillboards /> Commenting on the ad campaign, Steven Newton of the National Center for Science Education said, "I think it's a real shame that there aren't science museums that are competing in the same way, with the same sort of advertising with the same sort of budgets."<ref name=dinobillboards /> After viewing a display claiming that the [[Grand Canyon]] could have been carved in a matter of hours by receding floodwaters, just as volcanic mudslides carved canyons in softer rock in the aftermath of the [[1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens]], chemist William Watkin declared, "Everything they said about sediment deposition, about Mount St. Helens... anyone in first year geology would say 'wrong from top to bottom'".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=8280168&page=1 | title=Creation Museum: Is This How World Began? |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] | date=August 8, 2009 | access-date = August 8, 2009}}</ref>

In August 2007, Daniel Phelps, president of the Kentucky Paleontological Society, criticized the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau for describing the museum on its web site as a {{"'}}walk through history' museum that will counter evolutionary natural history museums that turn countless minds against Christ and Scripture".<ref name=phelpscomplain>{{cite news |title=Park Naturalists to Visit Creation Museum |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=The Kentucky Post |date=September 2, 2007 |page=B3}}</ref> The bureau initially defended its use of the language, saying that they used whatever language was supplied by each attraction featured on the site. Still, Phelps complained that, as a tax-supported institution, the bureau should not use language that claimed other museums turn people against religion.<ref name=phelpscomplain /> Within a week of the complaint, the bureau had updated the museum's description on the web site to read, "A walk through history via the pages of the Bible—exploring how scripture provides an eyewitness account of the beginning of all things."<ref name=phelpscomplain /> Commenting on the museum's efforts to attract classes of public school students, [[Zack Kopplin]] wrote: "At Ham's Vision conferences, he's free to teach children that ''T. Rex'' was a vegetarian that lived with Adam and Eve. No matter how ludicrous it is, that's a legitimate exercise of religious freedom. These creationist field trips, however, are not. No matter how steep the discount, public schools can't afford to miseducate our kids with religious pseudoscience like creationism."<ref name=slateft/>

===Status as a museum===
Writing in the journal ''[[Argumentation and Advocacy]]'', authors Casey Kelly and Kristen Hoerl point out that "physical remnants are not available as evidence for events described in the Book of Genesis ... Consequently, the Creation Museum demonstrates the materiality of creationist thinking through its display of objects that are, by and large, created for the museum or manufactured recently."<ref name=hyperreality>{{cite journal |last=Kelly |first=Casey Ryan |author2=Hoerl, Kristen E |title=Genesis in Hyperreality: Legitimizing Disingenuous Controversy at the Creation Museum |journal=Argumentation and Advocacy |volume=48 |issue=3 |date=Winter 2012 |pages=123–141|doi=10.1080/00028533.2012.11821759 |s2cid=55679663 |url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/commstudiespapers/189 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Because many of the articles on display at the Creation Museum are manufactured, ''[[The Guardian]]'' called it "quite possibly ... one of the weirdest museums in the world".<ref name="Guardian">"[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/nov/13/usa.religion So what's with all the dinosaurs?]". ''[[The Guardian]]''. November 13, 2006</ref> Krauss stated that "[On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best], I'd give [the museum] a 4 for technology", but added he'd also give it "5 for propaganda" and "As for content, I'd give it a negative 5."<ref name=opensto1000s>{{cite news|title=Ky. Creation Museum Opens to Thousands|agency=Associated Press Online|date=May 29, 2007|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1Y1-106874825.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140921194736/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1Y1-106874825.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 21, 2014|access-date=October 9, 2013}}</ref>

Gretchen Jennings, editor of ''Exhibitionist'', wrote that creationist museums like the Creation Museum are not museums at all, and said that if they applied for accreditation as museums, their applications should be denied.<ref name=jennings /> As of 2014, no creationist museums have been accredited by the [[American Alliance of Museums]] (AAM).<ref name=aam>{{cite web |title=List of Accredited Museums |publisher=American Alliance of Museums |date=August 2013 |url=http://aam-us.org/docs/default-source/accreditation/list-of-accredited-museums.pdf?sfvrsn=8 |access-date=September 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130818115321/http://aam-us.org/docs/default-source/accreditation/list-of-accredited-museums.pdf?sfvrsn=8 |archive-date=August 18, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[National Center for Science Education]] (NCSE) director Eugenie Scott characterized the Creation Museum as "the Creationist Disneyland".<ref name="Slevin">{{cite news|last1=Slevin|first1=Peter|title=A Monument To Creation|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/26/AR2007052600908.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 27, 2007}}</ref> Writing for the NCSE, Daniel Phelps called the Creation Museum "the Anti-Museum", while [[PZ Myers]] called it "Ken Ham's fabulous fake museum" in a 2007 post on his ''[[Pharyngula (blog)|Pharyngula]]'' blog; other mainstream scientists derisively dubbed it the "Fred and Wilma Flintstone Museum".<ref name=mead>{{cite news |last=Mead |first=Andy |title=Creation view $27&nbsp;million Anti-evolution museum opens soon |newspaper=Lexington Herald-Leader |date=March 26, 2007 |page=A1}}</ref><ref name="Phelps">{{cite web|url=http://ncse.com/creationism/general/anti-museum-overview-review-answers-genesis-creation-museum|title=The Anti-Museum: An overview and review of the Answers in Genesis Creation "Museum"|date=October 17, 2008|access-date=July 23, 2013|publisher=National Center for Science Education|last=Phelps|first=Daniel}}</ref><ref name=meyers>{{cite web |last=Myers |first=PZ |author-link=PZ Myers |title=The Fred and Wilma Flintstone Museum |work=Pharyngula |date=March 27, 2007 |url=http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/03/27/the-fred-and-wilma-flintstone/ |access-date=July 31, 2014 |archive-date=October 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022002111/http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/03/27/the-fred-and-wilma-flintstone/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>  In a 2013 blog post, Ken Ham responded to such criticisms by writing that the Creation Museum is a true museum, as defined by the [[Merriam-Webster dictionary]] and the AAM's website.<ref name=hammuseum>{{cite web |last=Ham |first=Ken |author-link=Ken Ham |title=Assistant Manager at Cincinnati Museum Center Derides Creation Museum |work=Around the World with Ken Ham |publisher=Answers in Genesis |date=June 7, 2013 |url=http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2013/06/07/assistant-manager-at-cincinnati-museum-center-derides-creation-museum/ |access-date=September 11, 2013}}</ref>

==Workforce==
The museum operates as a division of Answers in Genesis. In 2007 about 160 people including a [[chaplain]] worked at the museum, and another 140 people worked at the attached Answers in Genesis headquarters.<ref name="Slevin"/><ref name="Vindy">{{cite news|last1=Associated Press|title=Museum merges God, science|url=http://www.vindy.com/content/national_world/358296894445314.php/|work=Vindy.com|date=May 26, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926224204/http://www.vindy.com/content/national_world/358296894445314.php/|archive-date=September 26, 2007}}</ref><ref name="Coexist">"[http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=176926 Dinosaurs, humans coexist in creationist museum]". January 15, 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070118215637/http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=176926 |date=January 18, 2007 }}</ref> Each permanent employee of AiG, including people who work at the museum, must sign a statement of faith indicating that they believe in young-Earth creationism and the other teachings of Answers in Genesis, "in order to preserve the function and integrity of the ministry". The statement of faith includes "Scripture teaches a recent origin for man and the whole creation", "the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman", "the [[Noah's Ark|great Flood of Genesis]] was an actual historic event", and "no apparent, perceived or claimed evidence in any field, including history and chronology, can be valid if it contradicts the Scriptural record".<ref>[http://www.answersingenesis.org/about/faith Summary of the AiG Statement of Faith]. Accessed May 28, 2007.</ref> When applying for work, a written statement of one's beliefs is required along with a résumé and references.<ref name="Clark">Ryan Clark. "[http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070415/NEWS0103/704150358 Creation Museum touches lives]." ''The (Cincinnati) Enquirer''. April 15, 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/employment.asp Jobs at Answers in Genesis]. Accessed May 28, 2007.</ref> In 2007, ''[[The Kentucky Post]]'' reported that the Creation Museum employed between 10 and 20 security guards, armed with [[.40 S&W|.40 caliber]] [[Glock]] handguns and three certified [[police dog|law enforcement canines]].<ref name=security>{{cite news|last = Eigelbach|first = Kevin|title = God, Guns, Guards & Dogs|newspaper = The Kentucky Post|date = May 28, 2007|page = A1}}</ref>

In 2015, the Creation Museum and AiG were recognized on ''[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]]''{{'s}} list of top 100 workplaces in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region.<ref name=topworkplace2015>{{cite web |title=Enquirer Media Top Workplaces 2015 |publisher=Workplace Dynamics |url=http://www.topworkplaces.com/frontend.php/regional-list/list/cincinnati |access-date=June 18, 2015 |archive-date=September 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908060603/http://www.topworkplaces.com/frontend.php/regional-list/list/cincinnati |url-status=dead }}</ref> The determination was made based on a confidential survey of employees conducted by Workplace Dynamics, an independent research firm.<ref name=wdinfo>{{cite web |title=About Us |publisher=Workplace Dynamics |url=http://www.topworkplaces.com/about.php |access-date=June 18, 2015 |archive-date=November 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171120060619/https://www.topworkplaces.com/about.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==In the media==
A three-part documentary titled ''[[The Story of God]]'', hosted by [[Robert Winston]], aired on [[BBC One]] in December 2005.<ref>[http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs2005/1221bbc_overview.asp ''The Story of God – an overview''], Paul Taylor, AiG–UK, [[Answers in Genesis]] website, December 21, 2005.</ref> The third part of the documentary featured footage of the museum during its construction, as well as brief interviews with Ken Ham and Patrick Marsh.<ref name="tsog1">{{cite AV media | access-date=September 25, 2013 | chapter=The God of the Gaps | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-1stw0aJek | title=The Story of God | publisher=[[BBC One]] | date=December 18, 2005 | type=Documentary | people=Winston, Robert | time=42:53}}</ref> After these interviews, Winston states, "It was alarming to see so much time, money and effort being spent on making a mockery of hard won scientific knowledge. And the fact that it was being done with such obvious sincerity, somehow made it all the worse."<ref name="tsog2">{{cite AV media | chapter=The God of the Gaps | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-1stw0aJek | title=The Story of God | publisher=[[BBC One]] | date=December 18, 2005 | access-date=September 25, 2013 | type=Documentary | people=Winston, Robert | time=47:08}}</ref> The documentary also featured excerpts from an hour-long debate between Winston and Ham over the relative merits of creationism and evolution that was aired on radio station [[WLW|700 WLW]] in Cincinnati.<ref name="tsog3">{{cite AV media | chapter=The God of the Gaps | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-1stw0aJek | title=The Story of God | publisher=[[BBC One]] | date=December 18, 2005 | access-date=September 25, 2013 | type=Documentary | people=Winston, Robert | time=47:34}}</ref>

[[File:BillMaherSept10.jpg|thumb|upright|Bill Maher visited the Creation Museum as part of his 2008 documentary ''Religulous''.]]
In February 2007, a crew filming footage for comedian [[Bill Maher]]'s anti-religious documentary ''[[Religulous]]'' toured the museum and arranged for Maher to interview Ken Ham without Ham knowing in advance that Maher would be the interviewer.<ref name=maher>{{cite news |first=Dylan T. |last=Lovan |title=Comedian Raises Ire of Museum Founder |newspaper=The Kentucky Post |date=February 10, 2007 |page=A2}}</ref> In an August 2008 interview with ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' columnist [[Patrick Goldstein]], Maher said he used similar tactics to secure interviews with other people shown in the film: "It was simple: We never, ever, used my name. (...) We even had a fake title for the film. We called it 'A Spiritual Journey'." Maher continued: "The hour is getting very late to be able to indulge in having key decisions made by religious people. By irrationalists, by those who would steer the ship of state not by a compass, but by the equivalent of reading the entrails of a chicken."<ref name=goldstein>{{cite news |last=Goldstein |first=Patrick |title=Maher's Sects in the City |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=August 7, 2008}}</ref>

In July 2007, the radio show [[This Week in Science]], broadcast by the [[University of California, Davis]], published a website promoting a fictional "Unicorn Museum", a parody of the Creation Museum.<ref name=unimuseum>{{cite web |title=About |work=Unicorn Museum web site |publisher=University of California, Davis |url=http://www.unicornmuseum.org/wp/about |access-date=October 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928121021/http://www.unicornmuseum.org/wp/about |archive-date=September 28, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> According to the Unicorn Museum web site, "... many Christian adherents still maintain that the Bible is a wholly accurate historical account. By focusing on the more implausible aspects of this reputed infallible document, the Unicorn Museum seeks to illustrate the $27 Million charade that is the Creation Museum and highlight the intellectual laxity that characterizes Creationism and Intelligent Design."<ref name=unimuseum />

A 2008 episode in the first season of the [[TLC (TV network)|TLC]] [[reality series]] ''17 Kids and Counting'' (now known as ''[[19 Kids and Counting]]'') features the Duggar family's trip to the museum, including a personal tour they were given by Ken Ham.<ref name="tlc">{{cite AV media |people=Duggar family, Ken Ham |date=November 3, 2008 |title=17 Kids and Counting |chapter=Big Family Reunion |type=Reality television show |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SsLgHr5rSk |access-date=October 8, 2013 |publisher=[[TLC (TV network)| ]]}}</ref> [[Jim Bob Duggar]], the family patriarch, said, "We wanted to bring our family here to teach our children about creation and to show them all these great exhibits of how the world was created, and also to reinforce to them the fallacies of evolution and how it was impossible for this world just to all happen by chance."<ref name="tlc1">{{cite AV media |people=Duggar family, Ken Ham |date=November 3, 2008 |title=17 Kids and Counting |chapter=Big Family Reunion |type=Reality television show |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SsLgHr5rSk |access-date=October 8, 2013 |publisher=[[TLC (TV network)| ]] |time=1:32}}</ref> ''[[The Washington Times]]'' reported that the episode's airing "sparked reaction on both sides of the cultural debate" on Internet message boards.<ref name=goff>{{cite news |last=Goff |first=Karen Goldberg |title=Reality TV Gets Religion; Christian Families' Faith Co-Stars on Shows |newspaper=The Washington Times |date=March 22, 2009 |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-196099798 |access-date=October 8, 2013}}</ref>

On the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's ''[[On the Origin of Species]]'', in February 2010 [[Vanity Fair (magazine)|''Vanity Fair'']] magazine published British critic [[A. A. Gill]]'s negative review of the museum under the title ''Roll Over, Charles Darwin!'', with photographs by actor [[Paul Bettany]] (who had portrayed Darwin in the film [[Creation (2009 film)|''Creation'']]).<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/02/creation-museum-201002|title=Roll Over, Charles Darwin!|last=Gill|first=A.A.|author-link=A. A. Gill|date=February 2010|magazine=Vanity Fair|access-date=August 17, 2014|quote=What is truly awe-inspiring about the museum is the task it sets itself: to rationalize a story, written 3,000 years ago, without allowing for any metaphoric or symbolic wiggle room. There's no poetic license. This is a no-parable zone. It starts with the definitive answer, and all the questions have to be made to fit under it. That's tough.}}<p>*Ken Ham responded on his blog: "The same mocking tone he uses against Cincinnati is the same he used against the Creation Museum. It is a good point for all of us to understand that his lack of research in understanding Cincinnati as a city, with its world class symphony orchestra, famous zoo, etc. was also applied to the Creation Museum." {{Cite web|url=http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2010/02/21/vanity-fair-author-snubs-nose-at-cincinnati%E2%80%94again/|title=Vanity Fairsnubs nose at Cincinnati—Again|first=Ken|last=Ham|publisher=Answers in Genesis|date=February 21, 2010|access-date=August 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819085059/http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2010/02/21/vanity-fair-author-snubs-nose-at-cincinnati%E2%80%94again/|archive-date=August 19, 2014|url-status=dead}}</p></ref> Jill Stevenson noted that although most press coverage of the museum occurred around its 2007 opening, continuing coverage in ''Vanity Fair'' and elsewhere "tesif[ied] to people's ongoing curiosity about the venue."<ref name=JStevenson/>

The Creation Museum ranked second in the Best Religious Museum category of the 2020 USA Today/10Best.com Readers Choice Awards; the top spot went to its sister attraction, the Ark Encounter.<ref name=10best>{{cite news |title=Best Religious Museum: Readers vote Ark Encounter |work=USA Today/10Best.com |url=https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-religious-museum/ |access-date=March 11, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Rice | first1=Briana | title=4 museums in and near Greater Cincinnati make USA TODAY's 10Best list | url=https://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/2020/02/28/museum-best-in-nation-ohio-indiana-kentucky/4904290002/ | date=February 28, 2020 | work=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]] | access-date=March 11, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1=Kumar | first1=Anugrah | title=Ark Encounter, Creation Museum chosen as America's top religious museums | url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/ark-encounter-creation-museum-chosen-as-americas-top-religious-museums.html | date=February 29, 2020 | work=[[The Christian Post]] | access-date=March 11, 2020}}</ref>

==See also==

{{Portal|Kentucky}}
* [[Creation Evidence Museum]]
* [[ICR Discovery Center for Science & Earth History]]
* [[List of creation myths]]
* [[Religious cosmology]]

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{cite book |last=Oberlin |first=Kathleen |title=Creating the Creation Museum: How Fundamentalist Beliefs Come to Life |url=https://opensquare.nyupress.org/books/9781479897520/ |year=2020 |publisher=New York University Press |isbn=9781479861811}}
* [http://ncse.com/news/2007/05/reactions-to-creation-museum-001073 National Center for Science Education Reactions to creation "museum"]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070601161044/http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/05/the_creation_museum.php Pharyngula: The Creation Museum] – a compilation of blog reactions to the museum
* [https://ecommons.udayton.edu/eng_fac_pub/77/ "Righting America at the Creation Museum"]—a book that examines The Creation Museum and the rise of creationism in America.

{{Creation Science}}
{{Museums in Kentucky}}
{{Creationist museums}}
{{Portal bar|Biology|Science}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:2007 establishments in Kentucky]]
[[Category:Museums established in 2007]]
[[Category:Religious museums in Kentucky]]
[[Category:Museums in Boone County, Kentucky]]
[[Category:Creationist museums in the United States]]
[[Category:Bible-themed museums, zoos, and botanical gardens]]
[[Category:Genesis creation narrative]]