Adam and Eve fall from grace and Noah survives an epic flood at a new museum that tells the Bible's version of history on a theme-park scale.
But the scene near the front lobby might stop a puzzled paleontologist in his tracks: a pair of ancient children frolic just a few feet away from a group of friendly dinosaurs.
That exhibit, among others, has earned the Creation Museum notoriety among skeptics and anticipation from believers who are expected to pack its halls when it opens on Memorial Day.
"We wanted to show people there's no mystery with dinosaurs, we can explain them," said Ken Ham, founder of the nonprofit ministry
Answers in Genesis that built the $27 million facility near Cincinnati.
Scientists say there's a gulf of millions of years between man and the giant lizards, but according to the Creation Museum, they lived in harmony just a few thousand years ago. It's part of the literal interpretation of the Bible adopted by Ham and other creationists.
"People are just fascinated by dinosaurs, but they've sort of become synonymous with millions of years and evolution," he said.
Evolution is derided at the 60,000-square-foot facility, packed with high-tech exhibits designed by an acclaimed theme-park artist, animatronic dinos and a huge wooden ark. In this Old Testament version of history, dinosaurs appeared on the same day God created other land animals.
The museum also contains fossils, hung in large glass cases in a room visitors spill into after taking a tour of Old Testament history. Ham said most fossils were created by the massive flood detailed in the book of Genesis.
"The Bible doesn't talk about fossils, but it gives you a basis for understanding why there are fossils around the world," he said.
Ham said the stories of the Bible are supported by science, a notion that has drawn the ire of science educators around the country.
"They make such a point of trying to make it appear scientific," said Lawrence Krauss, a physics professor, author and critic of the museum. "Instead of shying away from those things that clearly disprove what they're trying to say, they use those things for deception."
Krauss, a professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, said the exhibits rival those of a "very fancy natural history museum," making them enticing to young visitors.
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