Ark Encounter

AIG's latest project is indeed the Ark Encounter theme park, with a life-sized model of Noah's Ark as the centerpiece.

Announcement from the Governor of Kentucky
Same press release at the AIG website
Ark Encounter Youtube channel
Official Ark Encounter website (as of this writing at 4:10, the official site is still showing a countdown to 4 p.m. tomorrow)

What do I think? Personally, I don't really care. I can easily think of dozens hundreds thousands of more important projects to spend $150 million on, but it's not my money. What is curious though is why they think they ought to do this. Clearly the governor and the investors are excited about the economic impact. But what's in it for the rest of creationism? We still don't have a comprehensive model to understand Flood geology, a topic that creationists often bitterly and angrily debate. We're also deeply divided in our approach to biological problems (witness the tempest over hominid baraminology), and we don't have a generally-accepted (among creationists) young-age creationist cosmogony. So what should we do? Let's build a theme park!

In all seriousness, I do hope that these endeavors of AIG (both the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter) will be used by God to inspire a new generation of creationist researchers. I also hope that God will bless the endeavors of those of us trying to make a place in academia for these up-and-comers.

Feedback? Email me at toddcharleswood [at] gmail [dot] com.