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Kentucky school takes class to Creation "Museum"

Posted 22 March 2016 by Matt Young

I do not know why it is coming to light only now, but a few years ago a Kentucky elementary school rewarded students with "perfect" attendance by taking them on a field trip to the Creation "Museum." Americans United has reported the story here, and a few days ago we received a press release from Daniel Phelps, a persistent critic of the Ark Park and the Creation Museum. Mr. Phelps has sent his press release to the Associated Press and elsewhere, but he tells us that he cannot get any reporter interested in investigating. We will reproduce his press release below the fold. Americans United notes that the school's definition of "perfect" is somewhat flexible, in that one absence counted as perfect. More importantly, they note

And kids have a right to learn about [certain religious concepts] - on their own time or in Sunday school. Such ideas are not appropriate for an official public school field trip, even if that trip was only offered to a handful of students. Instead, kids should be learning sound science - not religious dogma.

Mr. Phelps argues that the trip is "a clear violation of the separation of church and state" and "an act of educational malpractice." He is concerned that, although this trip happened in 2012, there may be many like it, and he claims that Answers in Genesis "brags that they have stealth missionaries in the public school system." Mr. Phelps's entire press release follows.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 18, 2016 In a clear violation of the separation of church and state and as an act of educational malpractice, a public Kentucky elementary school had a field trip to the Creation Museum. In the spring of 2012, Southside Elementary School in Beattyville (Lee County), Kentucky gave their students with perfect attendance for the school year a field trip to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. The school's account of the trip can be found on the official Southside Elementary website here: http://www.lee.k12.ky.us/school_NewsArticle.aspx?artID=861&schoolID=16 The text of the website is included below this press release [PT has omitted that text]. In spite of calling itself a museum, the Creation Museum is actually an extension of the fundamentalist Christian ministry of Answers in Genesis. Among the more egregious of many pseudoscientific claims of the Creation Museum are that the Earth and universe are approximately 6000 years old, that the Earth's geology is explained by Noah's Flood in 2348 BC, and that 600 year old Noah had dinosaurs, some of which were fire-breathing dragons, on the Ark. Moreover, the museum has a strong fundamentalist Christian social message that denigrates non-Christians and Christians that accept the findings of modern science. Recently, the Creation Museum received a donation of dinosaur skeleton from a prominent Neo-Confederate white supremacist http://pandasthumb.org/archives/2014/05/dinosaur-fossil.html. See http://ncse.com/creationism/general/anti-museum-overview-review-answers-genesis-creation-museum for a review of much of the museum's content. According to Southside Elementary's website, tickets to the event were arranged by Lee County School Board Chairman, Reverend William Owens. Reverend Owens is also pastor of the Bear Track Bible Church of Beattyville, Kentucky. Reverend Owens must not use his public office to evangelize students in Lee County Schools. Other adults participating in, or arranging, the trip included Jody Bingham, a clerk at Southside Elementary; Ray Shuler, head of Transportation for Lee County Schools; and Greg Roberts, a mechanic for the Lee County Public Schools Bus Garage. Although this incident happened in the spring of 2012, it may be the tip of the iceberg, as many Kentucky schools do not report their field trips on line. Answers in Genesis often brags that they have stealth missionaries in the public school system. For example see this AiG cartoon: https://answersingenesis.org/media/cartoons/after-eden/missionaries/ Hopefully, members of the press will further investigate if other Kentucky schools have made similar trips.

22 Comments

John Harshman · 22 March 2016

If I was a teacher in Kentucky, I would totally take my class to the Creation Museum, right after teaching a unit in evolution and/or earth history. Except that the parents might complain.

https://me.yahoo.com/a/JxVN0eQFqtmgoY7wC1cZM44ET_iAanxHQmLgYgX_Zhn8#57cad · 22 March 2016

Do the very brightest students get rewarded with membership in the church of Scientology?

Enough with the thinking, already, let's have some authoritarian prescription.

Glen Davidson

TomS · 22 March 2016

A few irrelevant comments.

Isn't there something wrong with encouraging elementary school children to aim at perfect attendance? As if there is something wrong with being sick? How many kids with an infectious disease have spread that disease by going to school, in order to maintain their perfect record?

I'm sure that they have some Bible proof-text which says that there were dinosaurs in the form of fire-breathing dragons on the Ark.

DS · 22 March 2016

I agree. Give them extra credit for each factual error they can point out in the ark park compared to what they learned about reality. Then it might be a legitimate school outing. You can do the same thing with the Flintstones, or the cartoon characters from the movie Antz. Now that's applied science!

DavidK · 22 March 2016

Surely in our eyes this was a lame-brained act, and we know how things work in Kentucky. But consider that in public schools, parental approval is normally required to take students out on field trips. It is assumed they were informed of the destination, Ham's freak circus. So likely parents were okay with this trip. Also, I'm sure Ham is pleased with their attendance, and that even though they are a school group either they, the students, i.e., the parents, or the school, had to pay an admission fee. So likely the parents, the students, and Ham are all happy.

https://me.yahoo.com/a/JxVN0eQFqtmgoY7wC1cZM44ET_iAanxHQmLgYgX_Zhn8#57cad · 22 March 2016

DavidK said: Surely in our eyes this was a lame-brained act, and we know how things work in Kentucky. But consider that in public schools, parental approval is normally required to take students out on field trips. It is assumed they were informed of the destination, Ham's freak circus. So likely parents were okay with this trip. Also, I'm sure Ham is pleased with their attendance, and that even though they are a school group either they, the students, i.e., the parents, or the school, had to pay an admission fee. So likely the parents, the students, and Ham are all happy.
Uh, yeah, does that make up for the fact that religious BS was sanctioned by state-funded entities? Or that fantasies were the reward for attendance, rather than some good learning experience? We're well aware that a majority of people in some districts would just as soon have the Bible as one of the textbooks used in their schools. Glen Davidson

fnxtr · 22 March 2016

We’re well aware that a majority of people in some districts would just as soon have the Bible as one of the only textbooks used in their schools.
ftfy

Dave Luckett · 22 March 2016

"just as soon have the Bible as one of the textbooks", Glen?

My distinct impression is that their constant demand is that the Bible be THE most important textbook, and that they can't for the life of them understand why it isn't, except to say that the situation is the creation of Satan, the east coast liberal elites, Hollywood, and (whisper it) the Jews, in about that order.

DS · 23 March 2016

Well when the chairman of the county school board is the pastor of a local church, you know there are going to be problems. These guys cannot help but use their positions to try to convert innocent children. They are practically commanded to do so by the words of their holy book. If you think that this is appropriate, then what if the field trio had been to a local recreation of the wailing wall, or a mosque, or a Buddist temple? Do you think that bus loads of children would have been allowed to go to those "museums" without a stink being raised? Why should a religious organization be able to get a local school to pay to bring students there to be lied to about science?

Henry J · 23 March 2016

Maybe if they used that edition that left a word out of one of the commandments? That way they'd save some ink!

Mike Elzinga · 23 March 2016

The field trip announcement says that "Olivia Lutes was unable to attend."

I wonder what happens to parents in that part of the country who dare to take their kids out of public school during a sectarian proselytization day.

DS · 23 March 2016

Seems a little fishy to me. She was not able to attend for her award for perfect attendance! How ironic.

DavidK · 23 March 2016

“Olivia Lutes was unable to attend” is branded for life for not going along with the circus. She may very well feel a little discrimination down the line from the god-fearing staff of her school as well as her classmates.

https://me.yahoo.com/a/JxVN0eQFqtmgoY7wC1cZM44ET_iAanxHQmLgYgX_Zhn8#57cad · 23 March 2016

TomS said: A few irrelevant comments. Isn't there something wrong with encouraging elementary school children to aim at perfect attendance? As if there is something wrong with being sick? How many kids with an infectious disease have spread that disease by going to school, in order to maintain their perfect record? I'm sure that they have some Bible proof-text which says that there were dinosaurs in the form of fire-breathing dragons on the Ark.
You thought it was a reward? Well, I suppose it might have been meant to be a reward. Glen Davidson

TomS · 25 March 2016

BTW, I think that monotheists would like be interested that a "museum" is a temple to pagan goddesses, the Muses.

John · 25 March 2016

A Kearny, NJ high school science teacher - and a creationist - took his class to the museum as a senior year trip several years ago. There were objections, thankfully.

DS · 26 March 2016

John said: A Kearny, NJ high school science teacher - and a creationist - took his class to the museum as a senior year trip several years ago. There were objections, thankfully.
Well if taxpayers paid for the trip, that's illegal. If attendance was mandatory, that's immoral. If they had cotton candy, that's fattening. Three strikes, you're out. Perhaps someone should go over the security footage for the last ten years and find out exactly how many science classes were brought to the "museum". Perhaps all of the school districts involved should be named in a law suit. Perhaps that would send the right message to those who want to ignore the constitution.

harold · 26 March 2016

John said: A Kearny, NJ high school science teacher - and a creationist - took his class to the museum as a senior year trip several years ago. There were objections, thankfully.
The incident was disgraceful but this guy is a history teacher and the trip was a voluntary extra-curricular activity by a Christian club. http://religiouschildabuse.blogspot.com/2010/10/center-for-inquiry-responds-to-kearny.html I feel that any involvement of teachers with student clubs needs to be carefully monitored, and that teachers should not be allowed to be involved with sectarian religious clubs at all. However, it wasn't a science teacher and it wasn't a school day activity. Taxpayers pay his salary but do not seem to have paid for him to visit the Creation Museum. This is not quite as bad as an "official" visit during school hours. Both are disgraceful, though.

Yardbird · 26 March 2016

https://me.yahoo.com/a/JxVN0eQFqtmgoY7wC1cZM44ET_iAanxHQmLgYgX_Zhn8#57cad said:
TomS said: A few irrelevant comments. Isn't there something wrong with encouraging elementary school children to aim at perfect attendance? As if there is something wrong with being sick? How many kids with an infectious disease have spread that disease by going to school, in order to maintain their perfect record? I'm sure that they have some Bible proof-text which says that there were dinosaurs in the form of fire-breathing dragons on the Ark.
You thought it was a reward? Well, I suppose it might have been meant to be a reward. Glen Davidson
Second prize was two trips.

harold · 27 March 2016

There’s one silver lining here. Exposing elementary school age children to Noah’s ark type stuff may have relatively little ill effect.

I was raised in a pre-political, friendly, not-hateful evangelical church. Member attitudes would have ranged from “Bible stories are folklore that symbolizes universal truths” to “The Bible says it, I believe it”. In those days rather than seek controversy and confrontation, ministers gave sermons based on passages, mainly from the New Testament, that almost no-one could disagree with.

Nevertheless, I was massively exposed to Noah’s ark images, among other things.

Children really are very good at sorting “real life” from “imagination”. An adult going to the Ark Encounter is making a defiant statement of rejection of science. From an adult perspective, it’s as if someone put up a museum claiming that Yosemite Sam and Wile E. Coyote are “literally real” and have the power to be blown up with megatons of TNT yet return to their regular physical form within seconds.

Children are pre-skeptical. But they’re also much more involved with the idea that things are “imaginary”.

No-one ever told me that Noah’s ark was an “imaginary” story, but they didn’t need to. It was instinctively classified with the make-believe.

I think the Ark Encounter is far more dangerous to adults and adolescents. For them it functions as a purity test. “Genuflect before this propaganda that you secretly, at some level, know cannot possibly be true”. It functions to force them into a position of denying reality, and once in that position, they have no choice but to make a humiliating confession that they did so as adults, or to double down with strong emotional defenses, usually in the form of rage hair-triggered by certain keywords and rushing to reinforcing echo chambers.

Kids will probably forget the whole thing in few days.

This doesn’t excuse violating rights by using tax dollars and school time for sectarian propaganda, but the harm may be limited.

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MichaelJ · 28 March 2016

It would be interesting to see how many teens, even in Evangelical households think that it is BS. In the days of internet and social media its hard to hide the truth from the kids.

richard09 · 1 April 2016

It never ends, does it.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/04/01/creationist-lawmaker-says-noah-s-ark-was-found-rocks-prove-god-created-earth.html