Aragonite Frostwork
By Matt Young
Photograph by Alan Rice.
Photography Contest, Honorable Mention.
Photograph by Alan Rice.
Photography Contest, Honorable Mention.
Jamie Jensen is a biologist and discipline-based education researcher at Brigham Young University, where she is a Professor of Biology. She has spent her career researching ways to help students and the public reconcile science with religious worldviews and has done work across the U.S., with the Smithsonian, and in other parts of the world including Qatar, South Africa, and Hungary.
I recently had the "opportunity" to visit the "Ark Encounter" and "Creation Museum" attractions in Kentucky while visiting Vanderbilt University for the Scopes Centennial Celebration. After participating in the academic meeting, I took a group of undergraduate students with me to these two attractions; these students work in my research lab investigating ways to communicate accurate evolutionary science across religious divides. We have had quite a bit of success in our efforts to increase evolution acceptance in the classroom without damaging students’ religious identities (see here, here, and here). However, with some of my more public-focused programming, I have met with varying levels of resistance (and sometimes hostility), even from members of my own Christian religious "in-group." (Yes, I do belong to a conservative Christian religion. And I also fully embrace the modern science of evolution, in its entirety.)
We went to these two attractions seeking to better understand the viewpoints of those who stand in opposition to evolution, and to characterize the misconceptions and logical fallacies that may stand in the way of effective communication across the divide. We were astonished at the extent and sophistication of the attempts made to "create" science that supports alternative worldviews. This is not a case of trying to "sweep under the rug" the inconsistencies between a biblical account of creation and the physical evidence we see around us. It was, rather, an elaborate attempt to build a pseudoscientific "reality" that would satisfy a not unintelligent, but not scientifically well-versed patron of the attraction. But as I walked the halls of this misguided attraction, I got to thinking:
The Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture (formerly the Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture) has announced, at its blog here that it will run its ID Education Day for the fourth time, in Tacoma, Washington, on the 6th of November. The theme will be "Creepy Crawly Complexity". I hadn’t been aware of this, but it was run most recently in Spokane, Washington in March, with nearly 500 students attending.
For the past few years, we’ve held our most popular student event, ID Education Day, in Spokane, WA, and the excitement keeps growing! This past March, nearly 500 students from Central and Eastern Washington and North Idaho joined us, including one school that traveled nearly three hours to attend. To keep the momentum going and to serve the students of Western Washington, we’re excited to host our second "Creepy Crawly Complexity" ID Education Day in Tacoma on Thursday, November 6, from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm.
Their description:
This is a fantastic field trip opportunity for middle and high school students in homeschool and private school settings to interact directly with scientists and learn about the complexity and diversity of insects, spiders, and worms. Students will get to hear special presentations from philosopher of biology Paul Nelson on the miracle of butterfly metamorphosis and the complexity of the roundworm, biologist Pedro Moura on the phyla Arthropoda, Annelida, and Nematoda, and megadrilologist George Damoff on the elaborate design of the earthworm and its role in ecosystems.
(A megadrilologist is not a specialist in very large mechanical drills, but in earthworm biology). As we might expect
The goal of the event will be to introduce students to the concept of intelligent design, to share updates from the field of zoology, and to think critically about the evidence (or lack thereof) for Darwinian evolution. In the panel Q&A, students will be encouraged to engage with our presenters to discuss the implications of their presentations for culture and worldview, helping them develop critical thinking skills and (in many cases) bolster their faith.
I do not know what the admission cost might be, or the requirements for one’s background. The link for the course is here.
I wonder whether the presentations and arguments will get beyond "gosh, aren’t these beasts amazingly complex? How could that happen except by Design Intervention?"
Photograph by C. Joseph Long.
Photography Contest, Honorable Mention.