Leaving the last of the exhibits you pass by a small room set up as a video theatre, showing a DVD (I think it was called "Life Story"), also available for purchase at £9.95. I spent a few minutes sitting and watching, but the volume was too low for me to hear the narration distinctly, so I picked up a free copy of "Creation" from a nearby chair, and proceeded into the shop.
In contrast to the exhibits the shop is more impressive, with rows of brightly coloured books, DVDs and pamphlets, well displayed. Anyone local who is considering online purchasing of creationist literature or media would be well advised to visit Genesis Expo to inspect the merchandise first-hand.
You can also buy fossils – prices to suit all pockets, right up to £1,250 for a fossil-encrusted table-top. Or how about this wall-hung plaque (below)?
It was in the shop that I picked up a selection of creationist pamphlets. According to the website of the Creation Science Movement - who are responsible for Genesis Expo - there are 125 of these pamphlets, on various subjects. I've already listed my choice, and I'll be looking at one (or possibly more) of them in a later post.
So that's it. Twelve unimpressive, simplistic and rather tatty display cases, a video that I couldn't hear, and a shop full of books, pamphlets, DVDs and gift-shop-type souvenirs. The arguments presented in the exhibits, such as they are, have long since been refuted, and I detected a tendency to appeal to emotions rather than reason. Selected displays are described in more detail at the Creation Science Movement website, where some of the merchandise, including the pamphlets, is available for purchase.
Incidentally, creationists are always going on about "teaching both sides" but I didn't see any of Richard Dawkins' books on sale in their shop (admittedly I didn't look very hard). I did, however, see the nest of eight fossil dinosaur eggs (below), located behind bars between the exhibits and the shop.
I don't think I'll be paying a second visit, unless I decide to examine some more of the pamphlets, so to conclude my assessment of Genesis Expo itself I'll leave you with the back-end of Boris, the Big Friendly Dinosaur:
UPDATE: Click here for more on one of the pamphlets.
UPDATE 2009-03-16: For another take on Genesis Expo, check out The Ranger's Blog.
UPDATE 2009-06-01: Another one at Choccy's blog.
UPDATE 2009-10-18: Genesis Expo in video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfWvniBYscQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2Pq6yNW3oY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u4ixGQKi0s
(Via Pharyngula)
Posts
Thanks a lot for this write-up. I had no idea we had creation museums in the UK. *grumble* You've been an education.
ReplyDeleteThe shop sounds fabulous, though. A shame that all the money for brilliant fossils goes to propagating lies.