Good Incentives Gone Awry: Kentucky Officials Are Adamant About Propping Up The 'Ark Park'
Rob Boston printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Mon Aug 04, 2014 at 11:04:52 AM EST

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.

The park is supposed to be built in Williamstown, a small city with a population of about 3,200. Williamstown and surrounding Grant County are facing tough economic times, so it's understandable that state officials want to help out the folks there. But surely they can do better than this. Even if the park comes to pass, it's most likely going to offer seasonal, part-time and low-wage jobs.

Notice I said "if the park comes to pass." It's a big if. Ham has pushed back the ground-breaking for the park several times, and the project is mired in an ongoing controversy over funding.

There's a legitimate question of whether Ham and his gang can even pull off this attraction. Attendance at Ham's Creation Museum has been in decline, leading some people to speculate that the audience for these types of fundamentalist-tinged tourist sites may be limited.

A real science museum is able to offer new exhibits and attractions because actual scientists are always making new discoveries and adding to our understanding of human evolution and the development of the universe. At the Creation Museum, there's no room for new research because the Bible is treated as the final word. Thus, displays tend to be static.

Just to be clear: Ham and his pals have every right to build and operate the Ark Park on their own time with their own dime. But that's not what they're doing. From the beginning of this enterprise, they have sought to tap the taxpayers' wallets for their fundamentalist theme park. That's not right. The goal of the Ark Encounter is to persuade people that Ham's view of Christianity is true and that they ought to adopt it. The government has no business helping Ham proselytize.

Attorneys at Americans United are examining the Kentucky Constitution and the laws of the state to determine if the type of aid being extended to the Ark Park is legal. In the meantime, the state legislature has the power to deny the aid package.

Kentucky's Speaker of the House of Representatives, Greg Stumbo (D-Prestonsburg) has already expressed skepticism about the plan. Stumbo called the aid package problematic "because it erects a monument with the help of state money theoretically that is recognized by a majority religion in this country."

Here's hoping more lawmakers agree. And let's also hope they come to realize that propping up attractions like this only serves to embarrass the commonwealth. It's also detrimental to Kentucky's bottom line. Companies based in high-tech and science have good jobs to offer. Will they come to Kentucky if that state has a reputation for promoting anti-science views?

Kentucky officials should find a real engine for economic growth in Grant County - one that is anchored in actual science would be best.  

 




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Ken Ham an Australian, why is he interested in building one here? We aren't exactly a heathen nation. Did he already build a Creationist Museum in his home country yet?

This use of the bad kind of Socialism, helping business to build things then they make whatever profit off of them, has to stop. Especially since it is obviously religiously based.

Creationism is an impediment to Science. We can see that there really is only a patina of science in relation to the theology.

by Nightgaunt on Mon Aug 04, 2014 at 09:41:52 PM EST

Due to cheap gas, Americans tend to travel great distances by car on vacation. This Creation museum is well located for access by the evangelical population,  well located for cheap land, very close to an airport, close to a reasonable cheap-cost-of-real-estate city (Cincinnati, OH), also close to a high-quality amusement park (Six Flags Kings Island) which is a draw for families. This combination of characteristics makes it appealing for the owners and managers' lifestyles and makes it potentially a lucrative affair, at least for the short term. Even if it is a non-profit entity, the salaries of the owners and managers can be quite generous, if the museum is attracting enough visitors.
The main problem this museum faces is that it is a one-visit museum. By its subject matter, it can't have rotating exhibits that could attract repeat visits by a given family of average size and child spacing.

by NancyP on Tue Aug 05, 2014 at 01:43:14 PM EST
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