Re: _Archaeopteryx_

[jdharris@teal.csn.net (Jerry D. Harris)]

>Do you get much crap from creationists?  One creationist organization I
>know of called the Caleb Campaign apparently has a tactic of springing
>nasty questions about evolution onto unprepared tour guides.
>
>
>--

Jim -

        Well, I myself have been spared much of the creationism that
strolls on occasion through our museum.  There is an indepent creationist
agency in Denver which sponsors and runs its own tours through the museum;
I've tailed a few of these tours just to hear what is said...but I can
never stomach it for very long.  The curators of our department, Richard
Stucky and Kirk Johnson, have dealt more with the creationist elements in
Colorado; from what I understand, many of these are nasty, but most are
simply humorous.  In fact, we had one patron write to our department asking
that we cancel her membership at the museum, because she "could no longer
support an organization that was so grounded in science."  Go figure...

        BTW, when the overall arrangement of "Prehistoric Journey" (or just
PJ, as we call it!) was considered, Dr. Stucky asserted that we place 100%
of the emphasis on evolution, and not cater to the creationist theory at
all.  I don't even think it gets mentioned at all!  Probably this will irk
many people (what, being confronted with hard evidence, and all!  ;-)  ),
but...

Jerry D. Harris
Denver Museum of Natural History
2001 Colorado Blvd.
Denver, CO  80205
(303) 370-6403

Internet:  jdharris@teal.csn.net
CompuServe:  73132,3372
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        "I repainted the picture Brown had painted for us.  A dying,
shrinking lake...these great...behemoths...dying..."
        "Well," she said, "all you tell me may be so...but I still can't
see why such creatures would have wanted to do it in the first place."
        "Do what, ma'am?"
        "Why, crawl away back under all that rock to die."

-- Roland T. Bird, _Bones for Barnum Brown_
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