Raucous reunion of Creation Museum opponents!

February 23, 2002

‘Déjà vu’ would be the apt word to describe Thursday night’s colorful public hearing about the draft approval for a treatment plant for the future Creation Museum near the Cincinnati Airport, USA (in Northern Kentucky, near the Ohio state border).

Many of the same evolutionary humanists and others who for 5 years appeared at public hearings to oppose the rezoning of land for the Answers in Genesis–US museum showed up to challenge it once again. While some former opponents spoke against the project under the charade of environmental concerns, others were more blatant in their hostility to the ministry.

One spoke out against the ‘atrocity’ of the museum’s treatment plant and other ‘atrocities made in the name of religion’; another misrepresented AiG’s natural history museum as a theme park, and likened it to an amusement park built in the 1980s by disgraced televangelists; one person made the incredible claim that AiG would be building a 5-story hotel on the site; and another critic called the treatment permit a ‘dangerous situation.’

Not surprisingly, the former president of the local (ironically named) Free Inquiry Group (FIG) spoke out against a wastewater treatment plant on the property. This is the same individual who has continually tried to censor this project—which will be built on private property with private funds—because he disagrees with the museum’s Christian message. This is in conflict with FIG’s supposed goals to develop ‘open discussion’ and support the ‘principles of free speech.’

The Project Moves On

‘I am confident that the Kentucky Division of Water will see through the charade—and the anti-religious bigotry of many of the museum censors—and will quickly issue the final permit,’ declared Michael Zovath, AiG–US Vice President for the museum. ‘Our proposed plant meets or exceeds all the requirements set by the county and state, and therefore the treated wastewater will not adversely affect the tributary downstream. The state has already acknowledged that, and that’s why it issued AiG a draft approval for the plant.’

Mr Zovath noted the many recent positive developments related to the 95,000-square-foot facility (of which about half is related to the museum):

• the raising of over $4.6 million in cash for the $14 million project (including a donation of $1 million from a businessman)
• the recent hiring of world-class designer Patrick Marsh to design the exhibits
• ongoing exhibit construction (e.g. the near completion of a 40-foot-long T. rex model)
• the completion of phase one of the project (grading and excavating at the site and the development of the museum storyline).

‘A tremendous amount of work has been going on at the 47-acre site as well as here in our temporary Florence offices while we went through the extended permit process,’ reported Mr Zovath. ‘In fact, we hope to have steel beams going up this summer once the county issues our building permit, which will be issued now that the exaggerated environmental charges have been dealt with.’

Unlike almost all evolutionary natural history museums, the Creation Museum will give visitors a ‘walk-through-history’ according to the Bible. Displays and exhibits will rival most secular museums. About $7 million in potential exhibits have already been collected.

Museum progress can be tracked at www.CreationMuseum.org or by calling the information line at (859) 727-2222 ext. 360.