Jefferson
Iowa News was on hand last Thursday when the new "Creation Evidence
Museum" was dedicated on North Cedar Street in Jefferson. The current
site is in a converted double-wide mobile home, but several of the new
museum's backers hope that they will be able to relocate on public
school grounds in the near future, or possibly even inside the local
high school, as space becomes available due to declining enrollments.
Because the museum's sole focus is creation "science", it is assumed
that the science department at Jefferson-Scranton will be extremely
anxious to add these facilities to their curriculum, and field trips are
currently being arranged for local school children, mostly for the
kindergarten and first grade students.Inside the building we were able to locate only one exhibit - a somewhat shop-worn bible, King James version. We were informed by the curator, Rev. Charles Dietrich, that it was the only display necessary, as within its covers, the only evidence needed could be found. The rest of the space is devoted to an area for the collection of signatures backing a petition requesting that intelligent design be taught on a permanent basis as a full-time class in the local school system.
We asked about how much classroom time it would take to explain and teach the concept of creationism. Reverend Dietrich stated that although the concept could be completely covered in a few seconds, the remainder of the class year could be spent studying bible stories, and learning how to worship God and praying a lot.
The museum is currently open Monday through Friday from 9AM - 5PM. Admission is $50 per person, which we were told would be used to perform Christian works in the community, including paving church parking lots, upgrading pastors' salaries, and buying radio time.
Spencer Straight, contributor