Good Incentives Gone Awry: Kentucky Officials Are Adamant About Propping Up the ‘Ark Park’
It’s high time that legislators everywhere recognize that old earth creationists are a vocal but limited & quickly diminishing marketing demographic.
I’ve lived in the Washington, D.C., suburbs since 1986, so when it comes to museums, I am spoiled. Just a short subway ride away is the National Mall, lined with the Smithsonian museums. They are an incredible national treasure.
When I’m traveling, I try to take some time to visit local museums as well. When my children were younger, we never missed a science museum. Several cities have them now. Not only are science museums a great educational resource, they can also be a significant income generator for communities.
I understand the pull of museums. What I don’t understand is why officials in some parts of the country can’t seem to differentiate between a professional science museum and a tawdry tourist trap run by fundamentalist zealots.
Consider the case of the “Ark Park” in Kentucky. An outgrowth of the Creation Museum, the Ark Park - an attraction that will supposedly feature a replica of Noah’s Ark (more accurately, a replica of what some fundamentalist believes Noah’s Ark looked like) - has been mired in controversy for years.
The attraction is clearly designed to promote fundamentalist views of the Bible, views that stand in sharp contrast to modern science. The man behind the park, Australian creationist Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis, seems to have, at best, shaky funding for the enterprise.
Yet despite all of this, Kentucky officials are rushing to pledge taxpayer support for the park. Most recently, the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Board voted unanimously last week to approve a package of tax breaks for the park, which is formally known as the Ark Encounter. The incentives total $18 million.
More: Good Incentives Gone Awry: Kentucky Officials Are Adamant About Propping Up the ‘Ark Park’