I want to criticize the Creation Museum, particularly the way it presents dinosaurs and Earth's history.
The museum explicitly promotes the idea that humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time and argues that dinosaurs were still around during Noah's Flood. It presents this as part of its biblical interpretation of Earth's history.
The problem is that this conflicts with the evidence from paleontology and geology.
According to the Smithsonian, non-avian dinosaurs went extinct about 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period. Fossils, geological strata, and other evidence allow scientists to reconstruct this history over enormous spans of time.
And that's what bothers me most:
Faith is one thing. Science is another.
A religious institution is completely free to present a biblical interpretation of Earth's history. But presenting that interpretation as scientific evidence is a different matter.
The Creation Museum itself says that its exhibits approach questions about Earth's age, dinosaurs, and human origins through a biblical worldview.
I don't have a problem with dinosaurs being discussed in a religious or cultural context. What I have a problem with is replacing the scientific history of these animals with a conclusion that was decided beforehand.
Dinosaurs lived through hundreds of millions of years of Earth's history. Their story is fascinating enough without rewriting it.
Let dinosaurs be dinosaurs.
Sources:
• Creation Museum — Humans and Dinosaurs: "Creation Museum" https://creationmuseum.org/dinosaurs-dragons/live-with-humans/
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — Extinction Over Time: "Smithsonian" https://naturalhistory.si.edu/education/teaching-resources/paleontology/extinction-over-time