Creation Museum Draws Scientific Community’s Wrath

The last dinosaurs roamed the Earth about 65 million years before the first early humans made an appearance, according to the historical timeline the vast majority of scientists accept. But prehistoric reptiles and two-legged primates will appear as having lived alongside each other at a new, controversial museum that presents an account of life’s development from a biblical perspective.

The Creation Museum , scheduled to open May 28 in Petersburg, Ky., has drawn the ire of scientists and advocacy groups that say it distorts the scientific record by discounting the theory of evolution, which scientists overwhelmingly accept as the most plausible explanation for life’s development.

Over the past few years, fights have erupted in states and school districts across the country over the teaching of evolution and attempts by critics to challenge its status with alternative explanations for the diversity of life on Earth. But those battles have been fought mostly in public settings, such as public schools and state boards of education debating science curriculum. The Creation Museum, on the other hand, is a privately run, nonprofit institution. Critics say it will present the public, and students who might visit it, with a distorted view of science. Supporters say the museum presents history from a religious perspective—and only for visitors who want to be exposed to...