This Teacher Had the Perfect Response After Visiting a Canadian Creation Museum

Geologist Stuart Bobbin recently visited the Big Valley Creation Science Museum in Alberta. (The Creationists running the place take it so seriously, they designed a website that’s apparently also 6,000 years old.)

Bobbin got a grand tour of the tiny building from owner Harry Nibourg and wrote about the experience for the Edmonton-based website Gig City. Some of his account is interesting because you just know Bobbin knows what he’s talking about while Nibourg doesn’t.

Harry talked about the importance of carbon dating as evidence of a young Earth. However, he didn’t mention that while carbon dating is very accurate for young objects that are less than 20,000 years old, it doesn’t work very well past 50,000 years — because the amount of the Carbon-14 isotopes left in the sample doesn’t exceed the margin for error in testing. In other words, you eventually hit an upper limit — which according to the Creationists is 4,500 years. Modern scientists date older fossils with other isotopes, such as potassium-argon, or zircon. I didn’t ask Harry about those.

But maybe the best part of the article is Bobbin’s recollection of two retired science teachers who were also visiting the museum.

While I was there, a retired English couple had been making their way around the exhibits. As they reached the end, Harry asked them what their professions were. Turns out they’re retired biology teachers.

Harry asked, “Did you understand what you were looking at, and did it change your minds?”

In the polite manner that only the English can achieve, the husband replied, “Well, you see, I think your museum is a crock of shit.”

Harry offered that they should “agree to disagree.”

The only thing that could’ve made that moment better would be knowing there was video of it.

In any case, it’s silly for Nibourg to assume a couple of hours spent in his low-budget Creation Museum could change visitors’ minds about reality. Just because people see a placard saying a fossil is a few thousand years old doesn’t make it so. And it’s not like this museum contains evidence.

To be honest, a crock of shit would at least be more interesting to look at.

(Thanks to Dan for the link)