Bill Nye—”the Science Guy”— confronts creationists new scatterbrained idea

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he UK's Daily Mail has come out surprisingly strong (for a mainstream paper) on the side of science. This report is rich in visuals, some of which we reproduce below. There's also some video material illustrating the ongoing controversy—which in any modern, civilized nation, not riddled with crazy religiosity pandered to by most politicians, should not be occurring. —PG

By ALEXANDRA GENOVA FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
Inside the Ark are museum-style exhibits: displays of Noah’s family along with rows of cages containing animal replicas, including dinosaurs. But the project has been criticized by pro-science groups who say it is based on a myth

‘The kids are being brainwashed’: Bill Nye the Science Guy slams new Noah’s Ark attraction during a visit Friday after protests were held at its opening

A 155 metre-long, $100 million Noah’s ark attraction built by an Australian creationist will opened Thursday
Bill Nye the Science Guy visited the ark Friday and said he worried that it is danger to the nation’s science education
Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis, says the ark is built based on dimensions in the Bible
Ham and Nye engaged in a two hour debate during the visit, in which they discussed creationism vs evolution
Inside are displays of Noah’s family along with rows of cages containing animal replicas, including dinosaurs
Supporters of science and the theory of evolution are planning a protest outside the park on Thursday
They claim it is detrimental to the teaching of science and should not have got an $18m state tax incentive

Science educator Bill Nye took a tour of a new Noah’s Ark attraction in Kentucky that he has called a danger to the nation’s science education.

Answers in Genesis president Ken Ham invited Nye, best known for his 1990s science TV show, to visit the Ark Encounter on Friday.

The Christian group says the ark is part of its ministry that teaches Old Testament stories as true historical events.

Nye toured the ark with his own film crew and the pair engaged in an unscheduled debate discussing creationism versus evolution in front of hundreds of people.

Nye ‘The Science Guy’ told The Washington Post that his takeaway from the visit was that the kids were being ‘brainwashed’.

He added: ‘This could be just a charming piece of Americana, just something — I recently used an app called Roadtrippers that takes you to odd or unusual places…but this is much more serious than that.

‘This guy promotes so very strongly that climate change is not a serious problem, that humans are not causing it, that some deity will see to it that everything is ok.’

Meanwhile Ham wrote in a Facebook post: ‘Bill challenged me about the content of many of our exhibits, and I challenged him about what he claimed and what he believed. It was a clash of world views. At one point I asked Bill: “What would happen to you when you die?” He said: ‘When you die “you’re done”.’

He added: ‘We both agreed to video the entire discussion as we walked. Numerous children, teens, and adults swarmed around us as we passionately interacted as the audience grew.’

The president of Answers in Genesis said that those who gathered around the pair as they walked and talked later ‘prayed for Bill’.

Teenagers and adults also came up and spoke with Nye, asked him questions and ‘challenged him’ according to Ham.

He also said he ‘had the opportunity’ to share the gospel with Nye a number of times.

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen Ham suggested that Nye speak to Answers in Genesis’s team of scientists, Nye said they were ‘all incompetent’.

Ham asked Nye if they could be friends, but Nye replied that they ‘could be acquaintances with mutual respect, but not friends.’ Ham described the two-hour encounter as ‘fruitful and exciting’ and said they ended the talk with a friendly handshake.

The two first became acquainted when they engaged in an online debate in 2014. After the debate, Nye said he hoped the ark would never be built, because it would ‘indoctrinate children into this extraordinary and outlandish, unscientific point of view.’

The attraction opened to the public Thursday, after a group of Christians – who believe every word of the Bible – cut the ribbon on the 510-foot-long (155 metre) version of Noah’s Ark which cost more than $100 million to build.

The ark, in rural Kentucky about 20 miles south of Cincinnati, has been criticized by evolutionists, who say it will be detrimental to science education.

But Australian Ham said he believed it would be one of the ‘greatest Christian outreaches of this era in history.’

Since its announcement in 2010, the ark project has rankled opponents who say the attraction should not have won state tax incentives.

A protest was held outside ark on Thursday and hundreds gathered with placards that read ‘A tax-payer funded flood of lies and hate. What a disaster!’ and ‘This fable won’t float’, while people chanted ‘One, two, three four, we don’t want your ark no more.’