Kentucky’s ‘Creation Museum’ in Financial Trouble Due to Declining Attendance

[The Straight Story]

Kentucky’s ‘Creation Museum’ in Financial Trouble Due to Declining Attendance (VIDEO)

In a developing story from Kentucky, the Creation Museum is running out of money due to declining attendance, bringing their “Ark Encounter” project to a stand-still because of a lack of funding.

Interestingly, the reason for the slowing traffic seems to be creationism itself, since the main exhibit has literally not changed in 5 years. Most museums’ exhibits change as new discoveries are made, as artifacts travel from other museums to visit, or as adjustments in scientific thinking are made.

Another reason could be the demographic that creationism’s proponents target.

Mark Joseph Stern from Slate.com writes:

A spectacle like the Creation Museum has a pretty limited audience. Sure, 46 percent of Americans profess to believe in creationism, but how many are enthusiastic enough to venture to Kentucky to spend nearly $30 to see a diorama of a little boy palling around with a vegetarian dinosaur? The museum’s target demographic may not be eager to lay down that much money: Belief in creationism correlates to less education, and less education correlates to lower income.

In hopes to draw repeat customers, the museum has added zip-lining and sky bridge courses to their attractions this summer. But when confronted by critics who wonder what the zip-lining and sky bridge attractions have to do with the museum’s message, Mike Zovath, the museums co-founder and vice president, says that the extra activities are irrelevant.

http://deadstate.org/kentuckys-creation-museum-in-financial-trouble-due-to-declining-attendance-video/

[silverweb]

1. Good.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]The sooner these charlatans fold, the better.

[Gravitycollapse]

2. I actually kind of want to go just so I can say I've been.

Not sure I'd want to send 30 bucks though.

[pepperbear]

3. yeah too bad their exhibits can't evolve.

[xfundy]

4. "less education correlates to lower income."

--but it also results in frightened conservatives.

This is the goal of the GOPigs, too stupid to figure out that soon, most won't be able to afford their made-in-Communist-China-bullshit-products cuz they spent their money on guns and bible-bangin' Pat Robertson DVDs.

[Notafraidtoo]

5. This is good news.

I hope the State doesn't step in and help them.

[Ichingcarpenter]

6. While cutting education, Kentucky gives $43 million tax break to creation museum B

Now the park has been granted $43 million in state tax breaks.

At the same time, “the state has gone through eight rounds of budget cuts over the past three years,” including cuts to “education at all levels” and a pay freeze for all teachers and state workers.





The National Center for Science Education has said of creationism that “students who accept this material as scientifically valid are unlikely to succeed in science courses at the college level.”


Think Progress has more details on the state support, which raises questions about the separation of church and state:


http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/05/20/208151/kentucky-tax-break-creationis-theme-park/


Gee..... money will spent on stupidity vs education

[Warren DeMontague]

7. Simple solution: Kentucky ought to legalize pot.

I bet that extremely high twentysomethings looking for a good laugh are a big part of the customer base.

[Aerows]

22. I'd probably go if I passed it

I stopped and saw the retired dancing bear (that didn't dance - that was the exhibit, it was a retired dancing bear, maybe they charged extra if he started dancing instead of just eating some cabbage?) and the amazing snake pit (that had garter snakes in it) when I was drunk on a road trip with friends back when I was 20-something. The most "exciting" part of the whole "exhibit" was the aquarium filled with cockroaches, which I'm deathly afraid of and it made me leave promptly and go outside to throw up.

That could have been the bad beer, though, too.

[Sunlei]

8. Kentucky millions in state funds handed over to that tax free moneypit, for leadership salaries?

If a religious park, church, building, religious group, can't exist on it's own financially through local supporters then it's better off they close.

The state and federal gov should never spend taxpayer money on religion.

[1-Old-Man]

14. Your comment sounds familiar, did you take it from here?

"Amendment I.: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; ..."

[Sunlei]

17. To bad Kentucky didn't put those state millions towards something 'more needed' by their people.

I hope that 'creation museum' didn't glom on millions more in Federal grants.

'Take' more taxpayer money (Federal) from real museums or schools. Wonder how big a golden parachute account, their BODs built-in for when they close.

[Enthusiast]

9. I'm devastated!

Not!

[randome]

10. Who could have foreseen this?

The gleefully gullible are a finite resource. What did they think, that people would start to live there in order to generate a steady stream of revenue?

[hr]
[font color="blue"][center]I'm always right. When I'm wrong I admit it.
So then I'm right about being wrong.[/center][/font]
[hr]

[JesterCS]

11. Good. I live about 2 hours from that laughable place

My parents went and loved it.... Me, I'm not so easily persuaded.

[Gman]

12. The one thing they forgot in their business plan

"Belief in creationism correlates to less education, and less education correlates to lower income."

[MrScorpio]

13. That museum can solve their problems quite easily...

They can simply evolve.

[CanonRay]

15. "the extra activities are irrelevant"

I submit the Cration Museum is irrelevant.

[JCMach1]

16. lesson on extinction in 3-2-1

[Apophis]

18. I hope the museum closes and burns down.

[nolabear]

19. Zip Lining for Jesus!

[Blue Owl]

24. Of course it runs 100% on the power of God, not gravity...

n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

20. the idea of a creationist museum made me laugh out loud

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

21. Didn't Darwin predict this?

[AngryOldDem]

23. Saw a billboard the other day advertising a dragons exhibit they're opening.

Dragons?!?!?

THAT should save the museum.