A Home School Science Fair Report

[Ian David]

A Home School Science Fair Report
Posted on: February 21, 2008 9:30 AM, by Ed Brayton

The Utne Reader has this report about a home school creationist science fair in Roseville, Minnesota. The article doesn't say whether Answers in Genesis was a sponsor of the event or not, but it does say that their literature was all over the place at the event. Which makes it all the more amusing that the winning display was this one:



You will notice that it refers to fossil evidence that shows that humans and dinosaurs lived together, specifically the "Taylor trail" in the Paluxy river in Glen Rose, Texas. This has long ago been debunked even by creationists. In fact, it was first debunked by an Adventist scientist named Berney Neufeld, who, if memory serves correctly, is the uncle of my friend Henry Neufeld who comments here once in a while.

Neufeld pointed out decades ago that those tracks, even if they were human and dinosaur footprints side by side (they're not, both sets of tracks are dinosaur tracks), this was a serious problem for creationism.The Paluxy river bed sits atop about a mile of sediments that, according to creationist "flood geology," had to have been deposited by the Noahic flood.

<snip>

The point of all this is that the Paluxy tracks and the claim that they contain human footprints is transparently absurd and it was debunked decades ago. Both the Institute for Creation Research and Answers in Genesis long ago told their followers to stop using this argument. Yet first prize at this science fair goes to a project making that same discredited argument. How very rigorous.

More:
http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2008/02/a_home_school_science_fair_rep.php

[TZ]

1. How appropriate.

A fake blue ribbon for fake science.:rofl:

[Tumbulu]

2. It is so sad for the children

Can you imagine what a shock it will be for some of them when they grow up to find how out of whack these ideas are?

And how about the ones who don't.

Sadly it's a lose lose situation.

[LeftishBrit]

3. Blimey!

That poor kid is going to have a lot to unlearn when he gets older, if he ever hopes to survive, never mind win prizes, in the modern world.

No wonder he thinks people lived at the same time as dinosaurs; he is clearly being educated by dinosaurs!

[dropkickpa]

4. What gets me

Is that this kid may have a truly inquisitive mind, and a love for science, but that is being perverted to the point of uselessness by this bullshit. It's truly sad how many kids are being stifled and denied the chance to excel by this shit.

[cosmik debris]

5. slightly off topic

I've been to that site near Glen Rose several times and it is fascinating to put your foot in the track of a dinosaur.

It is also quite obvious to any objective observer that the "human" foot prints are NOT human foot prints.

If you are ever in Texas, it is worth a visit. Just be warned that the dinosaur tracks are in the river bed. Come during warm weather and bring some wading shoes.